Something to Believe
by EverythingIDo
Summary: Wishful thinking for Season 4. Break-ups occur and a new, surprising friendship between Tim and Julie develops. Tulie fic, of course.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: So, it's probably an absolutely terrible idea to start a second story while I'm not even halfway done with the other one I'm working on, but the idea for this story popped into my head this afternoon and I knew that if I didn't just go ahead and start it, then I would rush to get through From West Texas and that it wouldn't be nearly as good (don't worry, I still have plenty of ideas for that story and so much more that I want to take that Julie and Tim through)._

_Now, onto this one. This chapter is pretty much Julie and Matt, but I **promise** this is a Tulie fic. Basically, this is my wishful thinking of how I hope Season 3 will play out. If only... Anywho, I'm counting on you ladies to review and let me know if you even like where this story might be heading. If not, I'll scratch this one and stick to From West Texas only._

_As always, I own nothing, though I wish I owned Tim Riggins (who doesn't?)._

_I hope y'all enjoy this one! _

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Prologue

Julie Taylor hated goodbyes.

There was just something about them, probably the fact that she had said them too many times in her young life as her family moved from town to town, from one high school team to another. She knew what goodbye usually meant—that you would pretend to still be best friends or significant others but that time would pass and inevitably new friends would be made and old bonds would be slowly torn apart. So, as she stood in the airport in Midland, saying yet another goodbye, this time to her high school sweetheart who was heading to Chicago to follow his dreams, she was reminded just how much she loathed them.

She had unsuccessfully avoiding thinking about this day all summer. As she carefully planned days with Matt that she hoped would extend their time together—dates that lasted from sunrise to sunset, days spent by the lake or in the middle of an open field with only each other for entertainment—the day that seemed to hold in it an air of finality, August 14th, still loomed in the back of her mind. Of course, time wasn't her friend either; as hard as she tried, it seemed that the carefree days of what she hoped wouldn't be her last summer with Matt flew by.

As she walked through the airport, Matt on her left with a backpack thrown over his shoulder and the security checkpoint that was the metaphorical line in the sand between the present and the future only a few feet away, she tried to suppress any thoughts from her mind other than that moment.

She noticed that the closer they got to the lines that were forming to have your bags checked for contraband items and your self checked for weapons, that both her and Matt's pace slowed significantly. When they were less than two feet away, they both stopped and turned to each other.

Declarations of love and promises of loyalty had already been made; all that was left now was the dreaded goodbye. Attempting to smile, Julie lifted her teary gaze from her feet to meet Matt's eyes.

Wordlessly, Matt wrapped her in his arms, crushing her against his chest in a strong hug. After at least a minute, he pulled back and placed his index finger under his chin to lift her face. "I love you," he said, almost like a reminder.

Julie nodded. "I know," she assured him, another tear escaping her eyes. "I love you, too."

Frowning, Matt used his thumb to brush away the tear before drawing her in for a final kiss, knowing that he better hurry or he would miss his flight.

"I'll call you when I land," he said before reluctantly putting space between them.

Again, Julie nodded, unable to come up with words to explain her feelings at the moment. Accepting her silent agreement, Matt nodded and stepped away, only releasing her hand when he had to. With a final wave, he turned and stepped into line.

Julie watched as he went through security, her gaze never leaving his figure as he went through the motions—placing his bag on the conveyer belt, removing his shoes, and finally stepping through the metal detector. When he was out of sight, she turned and slowly began to weave back to the airport's exit, where her mother would be waiting in one of the parking decks to drive her back to Dillon (Tami had, of course, known that Julie would be in no condition to drive back from Midland).

When she spotted her car in the distance, Tami sitting behind the wheel and reading a novel, she mustered up the strength to stop her tears and put on a brave face, but as soon as she opened the door and Tami asked her how it went, she broke down again. This time, her tears were messy, all over her face, not like the gentle ones that had tumbled down her cheeks in the airport.

As her mother wrapped her in her arms, assuring her that if they are meant to be, then the distance will only make their hearts grow fonder, Julie couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, they aren't and it won't.

Because, Julie Taylor knew what goodbye really meant.

--

After a month of separation from Matt, Julie was slowly starting to discover that she had been right about goodbye and what it really meant. As her days grew busier with school and homework and being the dutiful daughter to the coach of the East Dillon Lions, her time for maintaining a long distance relationship with Matt dwindled. That, and she couldn't help but feel like whenever she made Matt stay in on a Thursday night to talk to her on the phone for an hour, she felt like she was keeping him from the experiences he had escaped Dillon for.

Matt, of course, insisted that he would rather be on the phone with her than at a party of visiting a new art gallery, but she could sense that in his voice he was having to convince not only her, but himself as well. He would casually mention that his roommate was at a concert or at a movie with friends, and she could tell he wanted to be there as well, to be making new friends and new memories other than what the inside of his dorm room looked like.

So, on September 14th, exactly a month after she stood in the middle of the Midland airport and made promises and said goodbye to Matt, she tearfully suggested that she thought it would be best if they broke up for a little while to give them each a chance to rediscover who they were, to spread their wings. After all, she didn't want to be the girl that he looked back to and resented for keeping him back. As a final note, she added that if they were meant to be then they would find a way.

When the call ended, she sighed loudly and threw her phone violently down on her bed, causing it to bounce off of her mattress and across the room. Unable to gather the energy to get up and retrieve it, she rolled over in bed, curled into a fetal position, and fell asleep with tears running down her face and the light still on. Because, even though she had initiated the break up, it still hurt.

--

The next morning, the Saturday after the East Dillon Lion's first victory of the season, Julie woke up to cheerful noises coming from the kitchen in her family's home. Glancing at the clock and noticing that it was close to noon, she assumed that lunch was being prepared and forced herself to roll out of bed and face the day.

After throwing on a robe and sliding her feet into her slippers, she trudged down the hallway and to where the commotion was coming from. With smug satisfaction of being able to predict her family, she found her mother in the kitchen putting together sandwiches, Gracie sitting in her high chair chewing on cut up pieces of a hot dog, and her dad sitting at the table putting on his golf shoes.

"Hey hon," Tami said when she noticed Julie's arrival.

"Hey," Julie mumbled, still groggy from sleep, as she flopped down in the chair across from her father.

"Jules, remember you need to take your car in to get an oil change this afternoon," Eric reminded her, his voice muffled by the fact that he was bending over to tie his shoes.

Julie rolled her eyes. "I know," she said. "Every three thousand miles."

"Just makin' sure you didn't forget," Eric said, standing and walking to the breakfast bar to grab half of a turkey sandwich that Tami had just prepared.

Julie watched as her parents made small talk, she had yet to inform them of her break-up with Matt, kind of like how she had conveniently avoided it during her junior year, and found herself envying their comfortable relationship. Soon, she was lost in her thoughts.

"Oh, and Jules," Eric called on his way out the door, "take your car out to that new place that Riggins boy opened up, Riggin's Riggs, instead of where we normally go. I figure we should probably give them our business."

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_I know this was a short chapter, but it's definitely just setting the stage for what's to come. Thoughts? REVIEW!_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Thanks for the sweet reviews on the first bit of the story...hopefully you ladies are going to enjoy it! Just a few notes on the first chapter: I didn't realize until I was skimming over it this morning that I put Season 3 at the beginning...I meant Season 4! **_

_**Also, a reviewer pointed out that the team in Dillon is the Panthers and that there is only one high school. I know that, obviously, but if you watch the season finale for Season 3 (spoilers ahead if you haven't), you'll recall that the school board decides to reopen East Dillon High (the Lions) and that Coach Taylor's contract isn't reviewed for the Panthers (they give his job to JD McCoy's coach, Wade Aikmen), but that he is offered the job as the head coach at East Dillon. So, in Season 4 there will be another school in Dillon, as well as a new job for Coach Taylor. Sorry if that wasn't clear!**_

_**Without further ado, Chapter 2: Enjoy!**_

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Julie wasn't really sure what to expect when she drove up to Riggins Rigs, but a longhorn steer out front certainly wasn't it. Although when she saw the creature, she couldn't say that she was surprised; from the little she knew about Tim and Billy Riggins, a spectacle like that was just what they thrived on.

After parking her car in the nearest empty spot she could find and stepping out, she carefully walked through the open front entrance of the building and began searching for someone to help her out. Seeing a set of legs sticking out from under a little blue car, she hurried over, figuring it was Billy.

"Uh, Billy?" she asked lightly, hoping he wouldn't be intimidating.

"Billy's not here," grumbled the vaguely familiar voice in a muffled tone.

"Okay, uh, well my dad wanted me to come by and get an oil change," Julie continued, sure that whoever it was wouldn't turn down the business.

Suddenly, the figure began to move, gliding out from under the car until they were right in front of her, lying on the ground.

"Tim?" she asked, clearly surprised by his presence.

He nodded, still lying on his back. "Somethin' I can help you with, Taylor?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in San Antonio?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing with confusion. Had he really already given up?

At this, Tim sat up and shrugged. "College wasn't really for me," he explained nonchalantly, as if he hadn't just given up his opportunity to make something of himself, to get out of Dillon.

"Oh, uh," Julie said, not really sure what to say in response. "I need an oil change," she finally sputtered out, her fingers playing with the hem of her shirt nervously.

"Billy's out gettin' lunch and I've gotta finish fixing this car before I can move on to anything else, so you can wait or you can come back in about an hour or so," Tim explained, returning to the position on his back and sliding back under the car.

Julie considered her options: sit here and attempt to make small talk with Tim Riggins, who arguably wasn't the small talk kind of guy, or go home and sit in her room with constant reminders of the fact that she had just broken up with Matt. Sitting in Riggins Rigs won.

"I'll wait," she answered with determination.

Tim grunted in response, then murmured something about there being chairs in the office if she wanted to bring one out instead of sitting on the dirty floor. Grateful for his suggestion, she had noticed the various oil and other wet spots on the cement floor, she hurried off in the direction of the office, returning quickly with a metal folding chair.

"So, uh, when did you come back to Dillon?" Julie asked a few minutes later, not wanting to sit in complete silence any longer. Why didn't they at least have a radio playing?

Tim was silent for a good twenty seconds before answering. "Last night," he finally said.

"Last night?" Julie repeated, shock evident in her voice. Apparently, last night had been a big night for both of them.

"Yep," was all Tim said in response.

"Isn't there, like, a game this afternoon?"

"Yep," he answered again. "Not like I was gonna play anyway," he added.

"Oh," Julie said. "Matt and I broke up last night," she admitted a few minutes later, after the silence had once again become unbearable and it was all she could think of to say.

As soon as the words flew out of her mouth, she regretted them. Why did she feel the need for the first person she shared this bit of information with to be Tim Riggins? It wasn't like they were friends or something; they were barely even acquaintances. He could probably care less what her relationship status was.

"That sucks," Tim said softly from under the car.

"Yeah," Julie said, nodding. "I guess it was expected though, right? I mean long distance relationships never work."

Tim was silent under the car, the only noises coming from where he was being the tinkering of metal on metal. Suddenly Julie remembered hearing that he and Lyla were still together, even though she was at Vanderbilt in Nashville and he was in San Antonio, well now Dillon.

"Wait, I mean, sometimes they work, its just normally they don't is all. I mean, you and Lyla are probably the exception. If anyone can make it work, it's you two," she muttered, trying to find the words to counteract what she had just said.

"No, you're right," Tim said a few minutes after Julie's rambling finally stopped.

"Yeah," she said without thinking. "Wait, what?" she asked, sitting up straighter in her chair.

Tim slid out from under the car and sat up, leaning against the passenger side door. "I said that you're right. About long distance relationships not really working," he explained, his gaze trained on his feet.

Julie was silent as she digested the information, figuring that if Tim wanted to expand on what he had said, he would.

"Lyla and I broke up last week," he finally said.

"Oh," Julie said, "I'm sorry to hear that."

Tim shrugged. "I wasn't really surprised, to be honest. I knew that as soon as she got away to bigger and better things, boys with more money and more class, she'd move on," he said.

Julie was about to say something about how that wasn't true, how she was sure he was a great boyfriend and that Lyla didn't know what she was missing, but was prevented from speaking by Billy entering the garage and announcing that he was back with lunch.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Julie Taylor, what can I do for you?" he asked as he approached the pair. Tim, Julie realized, had slid back under the car.

"I, uh, need an oil change," she said, suddenly aware that Tim had escaped.

"Alright," Billy nodded. "Just pull your car up into that empty spot and I'll take care of it before I get into my lunch," he explained, gesturing to the empty spot in the garage.

"No, no, go eat. I don't mind waiting," she said. It wasn't like she had anything better to do.

"Relax, Julie, it'll only take me a few minutes," Billy assured her before going to the office to drop off the sandwiches he had been holding in his hands while she went to pull her car inside.

When she returned and Billy got to work on her car, she resumed her seat next to where Tim was working. She noticed that as soon as Billy got back to the garage, he had turned the radio on—Slamming Sammy Meade, of course—and gotten to work. Apparently, she assumed, Tim preferred the silence.

"I'm sorry about Lyla," she finally said, the only thing she could think of that seemed appropriate.

"It's not a big deal," Tim said, still beneath the car.

Julie accepted this answer, knowing that she probably shouldn't push him any further. "Was Billy mad when you showed up last night?" she asked a few minutes later.

"Mad as hell," Billy yelled from across the garage.

She chuckled. "He was pretty pissed," Tim admitted. "Couldn't believe I had blown my opportunity to be the first Riggins to graduate college, said that if I was going to screw my life up I better be working in the garage instead of lying around the house drinking beer."

"Which is what he was planning on doing until I dragged his ass here this morning," Billy interjected again.

Tim rolled out from under the car. "Billy, shut up," he hollered at his brother.

Julie rolled her eyes at the interaction between the two. "So there's no chance you're going back?" she asked.

"You want rid of me, Taylor?" Tim joked, a hint of a smile forming in his eyes for the first time that afternoon.

"No, I uh, I just, you know wanted to make sure you weren't making a decision you were going to regret," she said, suddenly finding great interest in her feet.

Tim sighed. "I'm not," he said with finality.

"Okay," Julie responded, completely okay with his answer. After all, it was his life, not hers…and why did she even care so much?

"All done over here, Julie," Billy said a few minutes later, after silence had once again settled over the garage except for the voices on the radio that were still critiquing the games across West Texas from the previous night.

"Okay, uh, do I need to pay you now or anything?" Julie asked standing from the folding chair and crossing to where Billy was closing the hood of her car.

He shook his head. "Nah, I'll get a bill in your mailbox in the next few days," he explained.

Julie nodded. "Alright, well thanks. See ya, Billy," she said as she walked over to the driver's side of her car. "Bye Tim," she yelled across the garage as she opened the door.

"See ya, Taylor," he yelled, a muffled voice from beneath the car.


	3. Chapter 3

Julie quickly came to the realization over the next couple of weeks that while she had been busy spending time with her boyfriend for the last year, her other friends had moved on. Much to her dismay, this resulted in her time being spent mainly between home and school. Truth be told, her only 'social' activities took place on Friday nights when she would sit with her mother and Gracie Belle in the stands of the East Dillon stadium, surrounded by a crowd much smaller than the one she was used to across town at Dillon High.

Exactly two weeks after her break-up with Matt, she found herself sitting in the stands, watching East Dillon somehow play like an actual team (as opposed to the mess they had been at the beginning of the season) against Laribee.

"Is that Tim Riggins?" Tami whispered, leaning over into Julie's space at the beginning of the game.

She squinted as her mother pointed to the edge of the field where Tim was standing alone, his hands stuffed in his pockets as he took in the game before him. Julie couldn't be sure, but the look on his face seemed to be one of melancholy.

Julie nodded. "He left San Antonio State already," she said with a sigh. "I saw him a few weeks ago when Dad sent me out to Riggins Rigs for an oil change."

"So soon? I figured he would at least last a full semester," Tami said with surprise in her voice.

Julie laughed at her mother's response. "Mom, aren't you supposed to, you know, have faith in all of your students and their abilities to succeed?" she asked, turning her attention from the field to Tami.

"I do, honey," Tami said with an innocent nod, "but everyone knows Tim Riggins isn't really focused on his studies."

The conversation was suddenly ended when, to the small crowd's surprise, the Lion's running back broke through the other team's defense and sprinted to the end zone for a touchdown. By some miracle, the East Dillon Lions were now leading against Laribee.

At the end of the game, her father's team was still on the winning side, leaving East Dillon with their biggest (and first) win of the season so far. As the team began to jump and down as they celebrated, Julie followed her mother and the rest of the crowd down onto the field where they were meeting up with their sons or boyfriends to congratulate them. Feeling out of place in a sea of unfamiliar faces, Julie stayed to the edge of the field and watched the excitement before her.

"Taylor," she heard someone say as they approached where she was standing.

Glancing to the left, she discovered that it was Tim Riggins, his hands still stuffed in his pockets, sauntering towards her with a weird smirk on his face.

She nodded. "Hey," she said in greeting.

"Great game," he commented, nodding in the direction of the field.

Julie nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it was," she said.

"So, why exactly are you here?" she asked as the excitement on the field slowly started to die down, cocking her head slightly to the left as she spoke.

Julie was curious for no reason other than the fact that this wasn't his team and those weren't his friends playing on the field. He had no ties to the East Dillon Lions other than they shared a coach. Didn't he have a better way to spend his Friday night?

Tim shrugged. "Nothing else to do," he said. Apparently not, she realized.

Julie turned to him, surprise filling her features. "What, no parties for Tim Riggins to attend? No women to woo?" her voice dripped with sarcasm as she spoke, drawing on his old reputation for material.

He shook his head. "Apparently it makes you look lame when you show up at a high school party after you've graduated," Tim said with a smirk.

"Ah," Julie said, "I guess that makes sense."

"Why are _you_ here?" Tim asked, repeating Julie's question in an effort to make conversation.

"My dad," she answered in a flat voice, not bothering to point out that he didn't make the obvious connection.

"Oh," he paused, "right."

She nodded, a toothless grin appearing on her face as she stuck her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet, her gaze trained to the ground.

"That and everyone else seems to have better things to do. Lois is off with her new boyfriend, Landry is visiting Tyra in Austin, and well, you know about Matt," she added, figuring that she might as well lay it all out there; Tim wasn't the type to make fun.

"Lois? Is that the one…" Tim trailed off, wondering if Julie remembered her drunken ramblings from over two years ago about how attracted to him Lois was.

Julie cringed as she recalled that night, knowing exactly what Tim was referring to. "That's the one," she said with a frown.

Tim chuckled. "Well, I'm glad she's moved on," he joked.

"She has," Julie said with a giggle, allowing herself to lighten her gloomy mood.

"Sucks, huh?" Tim asked after a few minutes of silence.

Julie turned to him, her eyes wide. "What does?" she asked, curious about what he was referring to.

"Feeling like everyone's moving on around you while you stay exactly where you were," Tim explained as his eyes darted everywhere except to meet Julie's.

Julie nodded slowly, trying to comprehend the fact that Tim had just, in his own distinct way, admitted a feeling that he likely usually kept bottled up. "Yeah," she finally squeaked out as she looked over to see her family approaching them.

"Riggins, why aren't you over watchin' the Panthers?" Eric asked as he and Tami walked up with Gracie Belle bouncing on his hip.

Tim shrugged before extending his right hand for Eric to shake. "Not too big of a fan of Coach Aikman," he said, his answer providing everything Eric needed to hear. "Your team looked good out there, Coach," he added with a nod to the field as the two men broke their handshake.

"We're getting there," Eric said with a grin, "slowly."

Julie could tell by their exchange that her dad already knew of Tim's return to Dillon from San Antonio.

"Everything goin' okay over there at Riggins Rigs?" Eric asked, confirming Julie's assumption.

"Yes sir," Tim said with a nod. Julie could see the slight look of embarrassment and failure slip into features for a brief moment before disappearing again.

Eric grinned before reaching over to clap his hand against Tim's back. "That's good to hear, son. Now, if you don't mind I think my family and I have some celebratin' to do," he said.

"Thanks Coach," Tim grinned. "I should, uh, probably be going anyway."

After saying a quick goodbye to Tami, or 'Mrs. Coach' as Tim still called her, Julie watched as he turned and took long, easy strides towards the parking lot. To her surprise, Tim then turned around her met her gaze.

"See you around, Taylor," he said with a wink.

"Uh, see you," she stammered.

"Okay," Eric interrupted her thoughts, "who's ready for some Applebee's?"

Julie rolled her eyes and grudgingly mumbled that she was, not feeling like arguing over the fact that she was sick of Applebee's, before following her family to the car.

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_A/N: Thanks for all of the reviews, alerts, and favorites! You ladies are the best :) I know this story seems to be moving kind of slow, but I have to keep reminding myself that, unlike in From West Texas, Tim is still kind of running his life into the ground instead of finding success through football and that he and Julie still barely know each other. It'll pick up soon, though. Let me know what y'all think!_


	4. Chapter 4

Julie drove around aimlessly for an hour after returning home from dinner with her family following the big win over Laribee. She wasn't sure if she was feeling nostalgic or just restless, but either way as she drove through the familiar streets that were full of memories of her relationship with Matt, she couldn't bring herself to turn around and head home.

Lost in thought, she continued to drive until suddenly, as if it hadn't been her own hands and feet turning the wheel and pressing the accelerator, she found herself in Tim Riggins' driveway. As she opened the door and climbed out of her car, still unable to explain to herself the thought process that led her there, she debated internally whether or not she should knock on the door.

Eventually she decided that it wouldn't hurt anything, it was still relatively early and she was pretty sure Tim would still be up. Surely, she thought, he wouldn't mind having some company or someone to talk to for a little while. After all, he had all but admitted he was lonely earlier in the evening.

Slowly lifting a fist to the door, she knocked twice before settling her arm back by her side. Hearing a muffled conversation on the other side, the door eventually swung open to reveal a definitely shirtless, definitely not as built as Tim, Billy Riggins.

"Uh, hey Julie," Billy said as he leaned against the doorframe with a questioning look on his face. If he was uncomfortable with the state she was seeing him in, it didn't show.

"Hey, uh, Billy. Is Tim home?" Julie asked casually as she tried to fill her voice with confidence, to make it seem like she randomly drove over to Tim's all the time just to see what he was up to.

"Sure," Billy said, his eyes narrowing before he turned around to yell, "Timmy! Julie Taylor's here to see you!"

"He'll be right out," he assured her before suddenly walking away and disappearing into what she assumed was the bedroom he shared with Mindy, leaving Julie to stand awkwardly on the front steps.

A minute later, Tim emerged in front of her. Clearly he had been asleep, his eyes squinting from the light and dressed only in an old pair of Dillon sweatpants, causing Julie to have to make a conscious effort not to stare at his sculpted chest.

"Taylor," he said, nodding as he greeted her.

"Oh God, I'm sorry, were you sleeping? I'll just, I'll just, uh, go," Julie said quickly before spinning around and speed walking towards her car.

"Wait," Tim said from the doorway, causing her to stop in her tracks and turn to face him, this time slowly.

"Is everything okay?" he asked with concern in his voice.

Julie nodded. "Yeah, I just, uh, somehow ended up in your driveway," she answered honestly.

Tim folded his arms across his chest and transferred his weight to one foot as he leaned against the doorway. "You wanna come in?" he drawled.

"Sure," Julie answered after a reluctant pause. "I mean, is that okay?"

Tim pushed himself away from the door and let his hands fall to his sides before turning and entering the house. "If it wasn't, I wouldn't have asked," he said over his shoulder.

Julie followed him in, suddenly filled with intrigue. What would the infamous Riggins boys' home look like? She was surprised to find it clean and tidy; even the empty beer bottles were piled into a plastic box labeled recycling.

"Mindy likes it clean," Tim answered as if he could read her thoughts. Apparently the surprise she felt on the inside at the cleanliness of the house was written all over her face.

"Oh," Julie answered simply as she watched Tim's actions.

Tim nodded as he crossed into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator to get another beer. "You want one?" he asked as he stuck his head inside.

"I'm good," Julie said, standing awkwardly by the breakfast bar with her hands stuffed in her pockets. "I'm, you know, driving," she offered a few beats later as an explanation.

Tim shrugged as he straightened. "Suit yourself."

Smirking, he left the kitchen and walked into the living room where he deposited himself on the sofa and flipped Sports Center on. Still shirtless. "This okay?" he asked, watching as Julie followed him into the living room and sat on the opposite end of the sofa.

Julie shrugged; she didn't really have a preference.

For the next hour, neither one of them forced small talk as they watched the announcers recap the day's sporting events before Tim changed the channel to some action movie. Instead, the only sounds in the room came from the voices on the television. Julie was glad; she was afraid Tim would ask why she had shown up at his house and she still didn't have an answer for him.

Glancing at the clock across the room, she suddenly realized that she was going to be late for her curfew if she didn't leave in the next five minutes. Jumping up, she gathered her purse before frantically turning to Tim. "I have to go," she spit out before running to do the door.

"Slow down, Taylor," Tim said as he took his time standing from his end of the sofa and stretching, giving Julie an opportunity to ogle his sculpted chest for the second time that evening.

"You remember my dad, right? Coach Taylor, crazy hair, evil eyes, lots of rules," she reminded him from the doorway.

Tim smirked. "Rings a bell," he murmured with a light chuckle as he took long strides to reach her.

Julie stopped her movements as he arrived in front of her. "I guess I'll see you around," she said before turning again and continuing to her car as Tim watched her leave.

"Hey Taylor," Tim called to her retreating form.

"Yeah?" she asked as she pulled open the driver's side door.

"You're welcome here whenever," Tim said with a gentle grin from the front steps.

Julie nodded to assure him that she had heard before sliding into her car and pulling out of the driveway.

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_A/N: Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter! _


	5. Chapter 5

Trying hard not to make any noise as she entered her home, Julie gently shut the front door, flipped the lock, and tiptoed down the hall to her bedroom. After dropping her bag on the floor and tossing her light jacket over a chair (it was still a bit warm in Texas this time of year), she flopped back onto her bed and allowed her thoughts to wander.

Tonight had been, for lack of a better word, interesting. There was something strange about being in Tim's presence that had been comfortable and easy; she didn't have to force conversation or feel the need to pretend to be something that she wasn't. She was just Julie, he was just Tim, and they were two recently single semi-friends enjoying being in the company of, well, anyone.

Before she could dive into her mind enough to come up with an explanation of why she had chosen to seek solace with him, though, there was a knock at her door. "Come in," she said softly, not bothering to sit up.

"Hey hon," Tami whispered as she opened the door slowly and entered the room in.

"Hey Mom," Julie grinned as Tami took a seat at the end of her bed.

"You have a good night?" she asked.

Julie nodded. "Yeah," she said, beginning the internal battle of how to answer the question that she knew was coming next.

"Well what did ya do?" There it was.

Julie shrugged. "You know, just hung out with Lois for a little while then came home," she lied.

Even though Tim Riggins was slightly reformed from this time a year ago, his old reputation was still in tact and she wasn't sure how Tami would take the news of her befriending, if you could even call tonight that, a 'Riggins boy.'

Tami grinned. "That's great, hon. I'm glad to see that you two are gettin' to hang out again," she said as she leaned across the bed and patted Julie on the knee.

Julie pursed her lips and nodded. "Yep," she said, deciding to fake a yawn to get out of the conversation.

"You tired?" Tami asked.

"Uh huh," Julie said, adding a few sleepy blinks of her eyes for effect.

Tami nodded before quickly standing. "Alright well get some rest then, hon."

"Okay," Julie said as she stood and walked over to her dresser to retrieve a pair of pajamas.

"Good to see you smilin' again," Tami added on her way out of the room.

Reaching up to graze her fingers across her lips, she found that they were indeed curving upwards for nearly the first time in two weeks.

--

Julie quickly came to the conclusion that the more times you showed up in Tim Riggins' driveway, the more normal it seemed. At first, she admitted, it was awkward and unusual; leaving one with a feeling that they might stumble upon something they didn't want to (for example, Tim in bed with a 'lucky' rally girl). Much to her surprise, however, that hadn't occurred. Instead, she eventually found herself looking forward to evenings spent in his company.

After the initial evening that she had driven over to his house, Julie developed a fail-safe routine for Friday and Saturday nights. First, she would tell her parents that she was going over to Lois' house to do homework or watch movies, then she would stop by the Alamo Freeze for a milkshake before driving over to Tim's. Usually she would find him in front of the TV, but sometimes he was in his room working out or, to her utter shock one Saturday night, reading. A few times she had to get back into her car and search for him out at the cliffs.

The rest of the evening would be spent in contented silence, the only conversations that did occur never delved deeper than how Julie or Tim felt about the actors on the screen or how funny a commercial was. Neither of them seemed to mind, both okay with having someone to spend time with. Never were the names Matt or Lyla mentioned; it was as if an unwritten contract to avoid talk of exes had been signed somewhere along the way.

Around midnight she would head home, with the exception of the evenings she knew she would want to have a couple of beers, and on those nights she would tell her parents that she was staying the night over at Lois' and sleep on the sofa, wake up early, and return home.

The routine continued until the end of October when one Saturday night around eleven Julie showed up at Tim's to find only Billy and Mindy, Tim's room empty of everything but the bed.

"Uh, Billy, where's Tim?" Julie asked cautiously as she reentered the living room.

She hadn't been over in a week, but as far as she could remember, Tim hadn't mentioned anything about moving out.

Billy shrugged from where he was sitting in his chair with Mindy on his lap. "Moved out," he answered vaguely.

"Obviously," Julie spat in frustration, "where did he go?"

Another shrug from the elder Riggins. "Said something about being annoyed with the love fest," Billy paused to smirk and plant an opened mouth kiss on Mindy's cheek, "that we apparently got goin' on over here."

Julie made a show of rolling her eyes. "Right. Well do you happen to know where he is?" she asked pointedly.

"Yeah, he's, uh, out at Riggins Rigs," Billy said nonchalantly.

Sighing loudly, Julie turned on her heel and stormed out of the house. She knew that if the empty six pack on the kitchen counter was any indication, she wouldn't be able to get any more information out of Billy that evening.

Without bothering to say goodbye, she slammed the door and stomped over to her car. Zooming out of the driveway, she gripped the wheel of the car so hard that her knuckles turned white as she drove.

Banging on the door at the main entrance as hard as she could once she reached Riggins Rigs, a groggy Tim appeared within minutes, rubbing his eyes to wake up.

"Thanks for telling me you were moving," she spat as his eyes adjusted the streetlight hanging behind her.

"Sorry," he grumbled. "I didn't realize you would care."

"Are you sleeping here?" Julie ignored his question and asked, pushing past him and into the garage.

"Yeah," Tim answered with a yawn as he followed her.

Julie turned to him and planted her hands on her hips. "On what bed?" she asked incredulously.

"Air mattress in the corner," Tim pointed to the mound of sheets and a dirty comforter topped with pillows. "I put it in the closet during the day," he added.

"All because of Billy and Mindy?" she asked, still standing firm in what she hoped was an intimidating stance.

Tim shrugged as he walked over to flip on a light. "I felt like I was intruding; my brother shouldn't have me in the room across the hall during the first year of his marriage," he explained.

Julie snorted. "Didn't seem to be bothering him before," she said with a roll of her eyes, alluding to the nights she had forced herself to tune out their moans and sighs from her position in the living room.

Tim glared at her. "It's time for me to grow up regardless," he said pointedly.

"Fair enough," Julie conceded. "But here? Sleeping on an air mattress in a car garage makes you feel grown up?" she asked, gazing around the shop and taking in the surroundings. There wasn't even a back room Tim could turn into a semi-acceptable living space.

"Why do you care, Taylor?" Tim asked, suddenly defensive as he challenged her.

"Because, you're my friend," she answered in a weak voice.

Tim nodded. "Well I'm fine here," he said after a silent moment.

"Fine." Julie didn't feel like arguing with him. Really, she didn't even care that much. Right?

"Well, I guess I'll see you around," she said after a brief staring contest between the two, a game to see who would break first. She lost.

Tim smirked. "Alright, Taylor," he said confidently.

Apparently, Julie realized, he had a plan up his sleeve.

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A/N: So, I am completely overwhelmed by the reviews, story alerts, and favorites for this story so far. I didn't realize it would be so well received...thanks ladies! I hope this chapter was enjoyable!


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Thanks again for all of the reviews for this story! It's quickly becoming my favorite one to write (don't worry, I'm still doing From West Texas), so expect quicker updates from it than from my other story. As I've said many times, you ladies are the best and your reviews are the reason I update quickly. Enjoy!!_

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Julie couldn't say she was really mad at Tim for not informing her of his, for lack of better explanation, address change. More like she was annoyed. Didn't he realize that the reason she had been coming to his house every Friday and Saturday night for the past month was because she didn't really have anywhere else to go? Didn't he think they were friends and that she deserved to know when their unofficial plans would be broken?

Suddenly she realized that Tim didn't realize either of those things. As far as their friendship, or whatever one could call the arrangement they had going, was concerned, she was just someone else to take up space on the other end of the couch. Probably, she assumed, he was perfectly content to sit on the sofa, watch TV, drink beer, and then wake up the next day and do it all over again. Otherwise, he would still be in San Antonio, playing football and going to class. Right? Right.

So, as she drove home after leaving him standing in the middle of Riggins Rigs with a perplexed look on his face, Julie made the firm decision that she would be completely Tim-less, even if it meant being friendless as well, until she graduated in the spring and could get the hell out of town. She knew it was stubborn, but she was Julie Taylor and stubborn was one thing she excelled at being.

Her plan seemed flawless until, out of nowhere, all the lights on her dashboard started flashing and smoke started to flow out from under the hood of her car. Muttering a string of curse words under her breath, she pulled over on the side of the road in hopes of stopping whatever was causing her car to make angry noises.

Julie's first instinct was to pull out her cell phone and call her parents. They would know what to do, who she should call. But then she remembered that Lois lived on the other side of town and it would be pretty difficult to explain why she was stranded halfway between home and Riggins Rigs, alone.

The next option, the option she wanted to avoid desperately but that she really couldn't avoid, was to call Tim. Obviously, seeing as how he worked in a garage, he would be able to identify the problem and fix it. Also, considering the hour, she assumed he would be more willing to come out and help her as opposed to the other mechanic in town who was in his thirties with young children.

So much for being Tim-less, she thought to herself as she flipped through her contacts to find his number. She tapped her fingers against the steering will as she waited for him to answer.

On the third ring, Tim answered with a grunt. Apparently, he hadn't had any problem going back to sleep after she stopped by.

"Tim, I, uh, I need your help," Julie pleaded through the phone, hoping that her voice didn't divulge her desperation.

"Taylor?" Tim finally spoke.

Julie rolled her eyes. "Yeah," she spat. "I need your help," she reminded him.

Hearing a ruffling sound in the background, she pictured him sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Okay," he grumbled, waiting for her to explain.

"You see, all the lights on my dash were flashing and then smoke started coming out of from under the hood of my car and I'm pulled over on the side of the road and I can't call my parents because they think I'm at Lois'…" she rambled, trying to convince him to come help her.

"Where are you?" he asked, cutting off her explanation.

Julie rattled off the information and waited.

"Okay, lock your doors, I'll be there soon," he assured her before hanging up the call.

After checking to make sure the doors were locked (they were), Julie allowed her head to fall back against the headrest so that she could rest her eyes for a few minutes while she waited for Tim to come and rescue her.

A knock against the driver's side window woke her from the light sleep she had tumbled into while waiting. Quickly glancing to her left, she was relieved to see that it was Tim and not some random Good Samaritan that would, more than likely, know her parents.

"Pop the hood," he instructed her as he walked around to the front of the car so that he could take a look.

"Nice outfit," Julie commented sarcastically as she followed his orders before climbing out of the car and walking over to wear he was standing.

Tim was dressed in the same pair of Panther sweatpants as earlier, a pair of boots, and a wrinkled plaid shirt with the buttons mismatched and his jacket thrown haphazardly over it all.

Tim sighed. "I was in a bit of a hurry," he said in a huff before turning his attention completely to her car's engine. The truth was, he was worried about Julie stranded on the side of the road all alone.

"What, uh, does it look like?" Julie asked cautiously, hoping that it wasn't something expensive to fix.

Tim shrugged. "Not sure yet, but it looks like your car just overheated, probably needs some cooling fluid," he said without turning to face her.

"Oh," Julie said as she dropped down to sit on the grass, diving into the quiet as she listened to him work, hearing the ground crunching under his feet as he went back and forth from her car to his truck every few minutes.

Even though she was grateful for Tim coming to help her out, as she sat in the grass while he tinkered around under her hood, she remembered that she was still angry with him from earlier. Operation Tim-less life was to resume as soon as he was finished, she decided.

Tim was silent as he tried to diagnose the problem with Julie's car, going over every possibility he could think of as to what could be wrong before finally concluding that it had, in fact, merely overheated.

Straightening, he wiped his hands on his pants and turned to Julie. "It's just overheated," he assured her as he walked over to where she was sitting. "I added some cooling fluid I had in my truck but it wasn't enough to fill the container, so if you come by tomorrow I can add more."

Julie nodded silently but didn't speak. Tim lowered himself so that he was sitting next to her on the grass, though instead of sitting straight up, he relaxed onto his back.

"You can go now," Julie said a moment later, a hint of venom in her voice.

The gratitude she had felt earlier when he arrived to help her had dissipated, leaving her with the same feeling of abandonment she had felt when she arrived at Billy and Mindy's to find him gone.

"I'm not leaving you out here, Taylor," Tim countered as he gazed up at the night sky.

Julie turned and glared at him. "I'm a big girl," she said, trying to make him feel like she did just a little while earlier at Riggins Rigs.

Tim sat up. "I know," he nodded. "But even big girls shouldn't be sitting on the side of the road by themselves at night," he added as an argument.

"Why do you care?" Julie said, still glaring as she threw his words from earlier back at him.

"Because you're my friend," he said with a gentle grin that somehow made her forget about her most recent decision to cut Tim out of her life.

Julie softened. "I'm sorry," she paused, "about earlier."

Tim shook his head. "You were right," he said, his voice almost a whisper. "I'm sorry, too," he added.

"Then what are you going to do about it?" she accepted his apology and asked, challenging him to come up with something good.

"I'll figure something out," he said in a surprisingly convincing tone.

Julie, for some reason, believed him. Probably it was the honest look in his eyes.

"You will," she said with a nod, finally allowing a grin to form.

Tim stood. "Wanna come watch _Fight Club_?" he asked as he extended his hand to help her up.

Julie sighed as she accepted his upward-facing palm. "Again?" she asked. They had watched it at least three times in the past month.

"It's all I have at the garage," he informed her.

"Fine," Julie conceded. "I'll follow you."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Here's a quick update for you lovely ladies. Enjoy!

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Even though she couldn't really explain it, there was something about the Alamo Freeze that allowed Julie to relax and completely focus on her schoolwork. Which explains why, on Wednesday afternoon, she found herself sitting in a booth by the window sipping on a strawberry milkshake and tackling her Calculus homework.

After an hour in the restaurant, she had grown accustomed to the bell that rang whenever the door opened, announcing that a new customer had entered in search of ice cream or a hamburger, so when Tim strutted through the door, she didn't notice. That is, until he slid into the seat across from her in the booth.

"Taylor," Tim drawled when she looked up, her mouth gaping at his presence.

"Uh, hey Tim," she finally spit out. "What are you doing here?"

He held up the bag of food in his hands as an answer.

"Ah," Julie said with as her face flushed. "Duh," she muttered under her breath, returning her gaze to the work in front of her and pretending to do it.

"Wanna go for a ride?" Tim asked a moment later.

Julie looked up. "I don't know, I've got a lot of homework," she tried to give as an excuse.

"Nah," Tim said, reaching over and sliding his hand under her notebook. "You're done for now," he said as he flipped it and her book closed in one swift movement and slid out of the booth.

"Tim!" Julie squealed. She couldn't believe he had closed her work like that.

"Come on, Taylor," he said, ignoring her protests and strutting through the restaurant, sending a wink to the girl behind the counter on his way to the door.

She rolled her eyes at his smug attitude, but found herself gathering her things and following him anyway.

"Where are we going?" Julie asked as followed him to his truck, increasing her speed so that she could keep up with him.

Tim turned and grinned. "I wanna show you something," he said.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "My car's here," she reminded.

"I know. I'll bring you back," he assured her with yet another smug grin as he lifted himself up into his truck.

Julie sighed before following suit and climbing in as well.

"How did you know I was here?" she asked as Tim maneuvered his truck out of the parking lot and onto the main road.

"I didn't," he answered honestly. "But then I saw you when I came in to grab some dinner and remembered there was somewhere you need to see."

She glanced to the left and shot him a questioning glance. He answered with a smirk.

"Okay, you ready?" Tim asked after they had been driving for a few minutes as they began to enter the residential part of town.

"Uh, sure," Julie said even though she wasn't sure what it was, exactly, that she was supposed to be preparing herself for.

"This is it," he announced, turning into an apartment complex and weaving through the parking lot.

Julie turned to face Tim again. "This is what?" she asked flatly.

"This," he paused for dramatic effect, "is where I'm going to live."

"Seriously?" Julie asked, surprise floating through her voice. "No more Riggins Rigs?"

Tim nodded, grinning. "No more Riggins Rigs," he repeated as he pulled into a parking space.

"You wanna see it?" Tim asked as he set the car in park.

"Of course," Julie said happily. How was she supposed to deny him when the look on his face was so adorable? Like a little boy waiting to open presents on Christmas morning or something.

After climbing a flight of stairs to the second floor, Julie waited patiently while Tim unlocked the door to his apartment (fittingly, it was number 233) and opened the door for her. She bit her lower lip in anticipation as she walked in, unsure as to what she was going to find. It was a similar feeling to the first time she entered the Riggins' family home.

She was pleasantly surprised. Tim had somehow managed to fill the space with a few pieces of basic furniture and everything was tidy.

"You did all this?" Julie asked as she walked around examining the place.

The living room was composed of a worn out but still clean-looking sofa, a wooden coffee table, a small television on a simple stand, and a box of DVDs. It wasn't fancy, but it was a start. In fact, it looked like what Julie imagined a boy's apartment in college would look like. So really, it was right on track for Tim's age.

Tim nodded, rocking back and forth on his heels from his position in between the small kitchen and living room. "I did," he said with a proud grin.

Julie turned to face him. "This is great, Tim," she said with a wide smile.

"Beats the hell out of Riggins Rigs," he agreed with a chuckle.

Julie laughed at his response. "Sure does," she confirmed.

"You need to get back to town any time soon?" Tim asked, heading into the kitchen for what Julie assumed was a beer.

She shook her head as she claimed a spot on one end of the sofa. "Nope," she said, making a popping sound in her mouth.

"That's good because I was hoping you'd be able to hang out for a little while; it gets kind of lonely over here sometimes," he explained as he walked over to the sofa, taking a seat at the end opposite of Julie and reaching over to hand her a beer.

"I'm good," she shook her head to refuse the drink. "It's a school night," she added.

Tim glared at her. "You're a senior, Taylor," he said to convince her.

"Fine," Julie rolled her eyes, extending her hand to accept the bottle from his hands.

"What are we gonna watch?" she asked after taking a long pull from her beer.

"_Fight Club_?" Tim asked in a joking tone.

Julie shot him a warning look.

"Kidding, Taylor. You choose," he pointed to the box across the room.

"You might end up regretting that, you know," Julie warned him as she stood and walked over to select something.

Tim shook his head. "Nah, I've only got good things in there," he said confidently as he watched her rummage through the box.

Suddenly, something at the bottom of the box caught Julie's eye: _Dirty Dancing_. Perfect, she thought as she pulled it out. Hopefully Tim wouldn't kill her.

"Got it," she announced, crawling across the floor to put it in the DVD player.

"What did you choose?" Tim asked from his position on the couch.

Julie shot him a taunting smirk over her shoulder. "You'll see," she said.

Tim nodded, hoping it wouldn't be too bad. However, when the DVD got to the menu screen, he discovered that it would be.

"Taylor," he said sternly.

Julie turned to him and grinned innocently. "You told me I could choose whatever I wanted," she said in a sickly-sweet voice.

"_Dirty Dancing?"_ Tim asked.

Julie nodded. "It's a classic, Tim. I have to admit, though, I'm surprised you have it," she said with a smug grin. This was payback for him interrupting her work she decided.

Tim glared at her as he brought his beer to his mouth and finished it off in one long gulp. "Must be Mindy's, got mixed it with my box," he muttered under his breath as he stalked into the kitchen to retrieve another drink. He was going to need it if he had to sit through this movie.

When he returned, Julie was already engrossed in the movie. Remembering she was a dancer, he figured that was why she enjoyed it. Sighing loudly, he settled deeper into the couch and decided to give the movie a chance.

Halfway through, he was shocked to realize that he was enjoying himself. After all, it was hard to go wrong with Patrick Swayze. Sending a sideways glance to Julie, he discovered that at some point in the last little bit she had dozed off, her arm acting as a pillow for her head and the empty beer bottle cradled in between her and the couch.

A fluffy ringtone caused him to jump up quickly, the jostling of the couch waking Julie as well.

"Shit, that's mine," Julie said as she refamiliarized herself with her surroundings.

Jumping up, she sifted through her purse that she had dropped by the door until she found the still-ringing object.

"It's my Dad," Julie said in a fearful tone as she glanced over at Tim with wide eyes.

"Definitely you should answer that," he recommended with a smirk.

"Uh, hello?" Julie answered as she gestured for Tim to mute the movie.

"Julie Taylor, care to explain to me why your car is at the Alamo Freeze and you aren't? Or why it took me three tries to get you to answer your phone?" the angry voice of Eric Taylor sternly said through the phone.

Julie's eyes widened as she tried to come up with a believable excuse. Really, though, she knew that no matter what she came up with, she was in major trouble.

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Note: So, thoughts? Don't forget to review (it'll lead to faster updates :))


	8. Chapter 8

"Uh, I, uh," Julie scrambled to find an answer that would satisfy a clearly angry Eric Taylor.

Looking to Tim for help, he shrugged innocently but offered her no escape. Rolling her eyes, she returned her attention to the phone in her hand.

"Where are you?" Eric spat, emphasizing each word clearly.

"I'm with a friend," Julie offered as an explanation.

"A friend?" Eric asked. Julie could hear the annoyance in his voice. This was going to be bad.

"Yeah," she paused a moment, "a friend."

"What friend, Julie?" Now, she could picture him running his hands through his hair to make it even crazier than normal as he paced in the parking lot outside of the Alamo Freeze.

Looking at Tim, she could see him nodding at her to assure her that it was okay to reveal his identity.

She took a deep breath before speaking. "Tim," she said.

Eric exhaled loudly on the other end of the call. "Tim Riggins?" he asked for clarification. "Since when are you and Tim Riggins buddies?"

"Since, I don't know, a couple of months ago?" Might as well let it all out, Julie decided.

"A couple of months ago," Eric repeated slowly. "You sure he's just your friend?"

"Dad!" Julie cut him off. Of course Tim was just her friend.

"Well, hon, you know his reputation and you know how this town likes to talk," her father explained defensively.

It was one thing for Tim to be his player, the boy he felt the need to take under his wing and mentor, but it was a completely different situation when he befriended his daughter. He knew that on some level Tim had changed, the he was a shadow of his old self, but his old reputation still lingered and he didn't want his daughter's standing to be tarnished by association.

Julie nodded. "I do, but you know what else I know? That he is the only person in this town that has been there for me since my boyfriend moved to Chicago, we broke up, and all of my friends moved on to better things," she spat, her voice rising with each word she uttered.

"And I know that you think all Tim does is sleep with rally girls and drink beer, but did you know that he's moved out of Billy and Mindy's, is working at the garage, and living on his own?"

"Don't raise your voice at me, young lady," Eric said.

Julie could sense his temper rising, but she didn't really care at this point.

"And yes, I am aware of those things," he added before Julie cut in.

"I won't raise my voice if you won't tell me who I can be friends with and dictate how I spend my time. I'm almost eighteen for crying out loud, you can't tell me what to do," she countered.

Though she could understand where her father was coming from on some level, on another one she didn't know why he cared so much. If the people of Dillon wanted to stir up stories, then she wasn't going to stop them. She would know the truth and that was all that mattered to her.

"Yes I can, because I am your father which gives me the inherent right to tell you exactly how you will or will not behave and who you will do what with. Which is why I am giving you fifteen minutes to get yourself back to the Alamo Freeze, in your car, and home where you will be for the next three weeks with the exception of school and my games," he said in a flourish of angry.

"That's not fair," Julie whined, sounding like a child.

Eric sighed. "Life isn't fair, Julie and the fact of the matter is you lied to both your mother and me about where you were going to be this afternoon. I'll see you at home," he said with finality before Julie heard his phone flip shut, effectively ending the call.

After slamming her phone down to the ground angrily, she turned to Tim. "Sorry," she muttered.

Tim stood from where he had been rooted on the sofa for their entire conversation and walked to where she was sitting on the floor by the door. "No worries," he said as he settled on the carpet next to her.

"I guess you should take me back now," she said, looking up to meet his gaze for the first time since she began fighting with her father.

In his eyes she saw a strange combination of hurt and pride, almost like he was glad she had defended him, but bruised that she had to.

Tim nodded before scrambling to his feet. "Okay," he said as he pulled her up from the ground.

--

"Coach is going to murder me," Tim blurted out a few minutes into the drive.

So far, the ride had been silent as Julie contemplated the fate that awaited her once she stepped through the front door of her home.

Julie shook her head. "No he won't," she assured him. "If anything, he's more upset with me for not being where I was supposed to be rather than who I was with."

"Maybe he's right," Tim said after a long, tension-filled pause. For at least a minute Julie could sense that a comment was simmering just below the surface, and here it was.

Julie turned to face him. "Tim," she pleaded. Of course her father wasn't right.

"Where did you tell him you've been going every weekend?" Tim ignored her pleas as he refused to meet her gaze.

"Let me guess, you've been telling your parents that you've been going to Lois' every weekend," he said slowly, his eyes trained on the road in front of him.

"Am I right?" he finally asked when Julie wouldn't respond.

Julie turned away, ashamed.

"It's not like that," she said shaking her head back and forth.

"Then tell me what it's like," Tim demanded. He resisted the urge to pull over on the side of the road so that the conversation could receive the attention it deserved, but didn't for fear of heightened punishment it would place on Julie.

Julie paused, gathering her thoughts before speaking. She needed to figure out a way to explain it to Tim without hurting him further.

"The night I showed up at your house, I didn't plan it. It was like my car was on autopilot and steered itself to your house on it's own will. Honestly, I stood outside for a good bit trying to decide if I should knock on the door or not. And then I did and I was so glad that I did because I was able to just _be_ with you; I didn't feel like I had to force conversations or talk about my feelings," Julie rambled, pausing to take a breath and look at Tim to gauge his reaction.

The tension in his face was slowly receding. "I guess that I didn't want to mess it up, I was afraid that if I told my parents I was spending time with Tim Riggins then they would make me stop and then I would be alone again."

By the time she finished, her voice had dropped to a weak whisper and the Alamo Freeze was visible in the distance.

"I know I should have told my parents who I was with from the beginning, but I was afraid to," she added as a final defense as they turned into the parking lot.

Tim nodded curtly. "I understand," he said, his voice defeated.

"Are we good?" Julie asked, her voice thick with trepidation as Tim pulled into an empty space next to her car.

Tim nodded. "Yeah, we're good," he said with a forced grin.

Julie was silent as she opened the door of the truck. "Thanks," she said quietly, turning to him before climbing out.

"No worries," he assured her. "See you at the game?"

Julie turned and nodded. "Yeah," she said.

As she slid into the driver's seat of her car, Julie decided that maybe being grounded wouldn't be so bad after all, especially if she's gets to see the exasperated look on her father's face when she invites Tim over after the game on Friday. After all, he said she would be at home except for school and football games. He didn't mention anything about company.

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_A/N: Sorry to leave you ladies hanging at the end of the last chapter...I hope this one made up for it! Thanks again for all of the feedback. _

_Also, I've decided to put 'From West Texas' on hiatus so that I can spend more time on this story. I know it's kind of annoying for me to pause where it is (especially leaving all you wondering whether or not there is a little Riglet on the way), but I felt like I was unfairly dividing my time between the two stories and needed to focus on just one. So, obviously 'Something to Believe' won out. I promise that I'll go back to that one eventually :)_

_I can't wait to hear what y'all thought about this chapter! I'll try to get another one out soon! _


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Note: So, this one is a lot longer than the previous chapters, mainly because I couldn't pick a good spot to divide it up. Enjoy!! I can't wait to hear what you all think of this one :)_

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By Friday, Eric and Julie were still sparring over her punishment for lying about her whereabouts on Wednesday. Julie held firm in her argument that she _was_ at the Alamo Freeze, but had left unexpectedly when Tim showed up, while Eric was adamant that he didn't really care what her excuse was, she wasn't where she said that she would be and her punishment was not negotiable.

Eric's sarcastic remark at breakfast that morning about hoping Julie enjoyed her weekend in only fueled the fire. Julie had even been considering not going through with her plan of inviting Tim over that night, but she decided after his comment that the plan was definitely still in action.

As the clock ticked down on another surprising East Dillon victory, this time against Midland, Julie scanned the crowd and immediately found Billy and Tim a few sections away. It wasn't like they were hard to find; even though the Lions were heading in the direction of a successful season, the crowds weren't increasing due to the fact that across town, the Panthers were undefeated so far (much to Eric and Buddy's dislike).

After turning to her mother and mumbling something about going to the bathroom, she darted off in Tim's direction. She successfully maneuvered her way through the crowd before sidling up beside him.

"Hey," she said, nudging him in the side to get his attention.

He turned to her, surprised. "Taylor," he nodded.

"You're coming to my house tonight," Julie said matter-of-factly.

Tim's eyebrows rose as he smirked at her. "I am?" he asked.

"You are," Julie nodded.

"What if I had other plans?" Tim asked to annoy her.

Julie shook her head. "I know you don't," she said.

Behind Tim, Billy was nodding in agreement to tell her that he didn't, in fact, have plans.

"Aren't you grounded?" Tim asked a beat later.

Julie grinned. "See the thing about being grounded is that I can't leave, nothing was mentioned about guests being banned," she explained.

Tim narrowed his eyes at her. "So, Coach knows I'm coming over?"

Julie turned in the direction of the field to avoid his gaze. She knew her eyes wouldn't match her mouth if she looked at him.

"Not exactly," she said slowly as she pretended to have great interest in the last few seconds of the game.

"However, he's going to be at a party Buddy Garrity is throwing for the team tonight so he probably won't even know," she explained before Tim had a chance to argue, holding her index finger up to make the point.

It wasn't a complete lie; her parents _would_ be at a party Buddy Garrity was throwing. She just didn't mention the fact that they would only be making a brief appearance then returning home.

"And you're sure this isn't some plan to spite your parents for punishing you?" Tim asked.

Damn, he was smarter than he looked.

Julie bit her lip nervously and turned to him, unable to lie further.

"Taylor," Tim said slowly, dragging her last name out into as many syllables as possible.

Julie pulled out the last known weapon in her arsenal that evening: the puppy dog look.

"Please," she begged, her lower lip sticking out.

Tim glared at her playfully. "Fine," he finally conceded.

Julie surprised them both by throwing her arms around him and enveloping him in a big hug.

"But if anyone protests, all guilt falls on you," Tim said into her hair as he patted her on the back awkwardly as if he had never been hugged by a girl before.

Julie pulled away and nodded. "Of course," she assured him. "I should probably, you know, get back over there," she pointed to where her mom was talking to a parent across the stands.

"But I'll see you in a bit?" she asked before beginning to practically skip away.

Tim nodded as he watched her bounce off.

Billy shook his head back and forth. "Bad idea, little brother," he said one Julie was out of earshot.

Tim turned to him with an innocent expression on his face. "What?" he asked defensively.

"Cozying up with Julie Taylor," Billy said with a sly wink.

Tim rolled his eyes. "We're just friends."

"For now," Billy muttered under his breath.

Tim responded the best way he knew how by slapping Billy upside the head.

--

"I came prepared," Tim said as Julie swung the door open, holding up a set of brown paper bags.

She was surprised Tim had arrived so quickly. Having just finished putting Gracie down to bed (another aspect of her punishment was babysitting), she was hoping to get a chance to change into something a little more comfortable than the jeans and sweater she had worn to the game before he arrived.

Her eyes widened in surprise. "What did you bring?" she asked eagerly, motioning for him to come in and then shutting the door behind him.

"Alamo Freeze and movie options," Tim explained.

Julie stopped in her tracks and turned to shoot him a questioning look. "No beer?" she asked with a twinkle in her eyes.

"I'd prefer to keep the use of my legs," Tim said with a smirk.

"Right," Julie agreed. "Fair enough. What movies did you bring?"

"_The Dark Knight_ and _Remember the Titans._ You can choose what we watch first," he said with a small grin.

Julie scrunched up her nose. He was such a guy.

"Neither?" Tim asked after seeing the look on her face.

"I guess _The Dark Knight_ is okay," Julie said slowly. "Go ahead and get it started while I run change."

Tim nodded before bending down to turn on the DVD player and slide the movie in.

When Julie returned, he was sitting at the breakfast bar eating the food he had brought with him, the DVD menu screen waiting. Julie slid onto the chair next to him and waited.

"You gonna eat?" Tim asked with a mouth full of food.

Julie gave him a disgusted look. "You brought me food?" she asked with surprise once she got over the image of hamburger floating around in his mouth.

He nodded as he took another bite, using his hand to point to the bag on the counter.

Julie reached for the bag and after sticking her hand in found out that, sure enough, he had brought food for her. Unwrapping the foil, she grinned upon discovering that he had remembered she preferred the spicy chicken sandwich to a hamburger.

"You didn't have to," she said, turning to him. "But thanks."

"No worries," Tim said with a small smile. "I figured you weren't allowed to stop for food on your way home," he explained.

Julie nodded in agreement as she bit into her sandwich.

They ate in silence, Tim rolling up the foil from his sandwich and tossing it into the empty bag before lumbering over to the sofa to get comfortable for the movie. Julie was finished less than a minute later, practically inhaling her food, and followed suit.

Even though Julie had complained about the movies Tim brought, she quickly found herself enraptured by the film in front of her. In fact, she was enjoying it so much that she didn't realize that every few minutes she would scoot closer to Tim on the sofa so that by the time the movie was almost over, they were separated by mere inches. So close that she could feel the heat radiating off his body.

When he stood to swap the movies, she nonchalantly slid back to her end of the sofa. Ignoring the fact that it was cold and not nearly as comfortable as having Tim at her side, she sunk into the cushions and waited for him to resume his position on his end of the sofa.

As the opening scenes of _Remember the Titans_ began to fill the screen, her eyelids began to feel heavy. She admitted that it was a good movie, but sometimes she felt like it was her life. So, instead of watching, she decided to rest her eyes for a few minutes as she stretched her legs out on the couch, allowing her legs to float onto Tim's lap.

The next thing she knew, Tim was shoving her feet off of his lap and shaking her awake. Sitting up, completely disoriented and upset with herself for falling asleep for the second time in one week in the middle of a movie, she squinted as she tried to figure out Tim's reason for suddenly waking her up.

Glancing at Tim, she saw his frightened gaze was pointed in the direction of the front door, immediately clarifying everything. Her parents were home.

"Chill out," Julie hissed at him. He must have heard the deadbolt sliding open; something she had missed in while dozing.

Tim glared at her. "I completely forgot your parents would be coming home," he said in a rush, "should I go? Like sneak out the side door or somethin'?"

Julie looked at him like he had grown a second head. "No," she answered flatly. "We weren't doing anything but watching a movie. Relax," she said, rolling her eyes.

Since when did Tim Riggins care about parental approval?

Suddenly, Eric and Tami came bursting into the living room.

"Julie, would you like to explain to me why Tim's tru—" Eric stopped when his gaze settled on the boy he was referring to.

Tami, knowing an explosion was about to occur, waved at the pair and sent an apologetic look before murmuring something about checking on Gracie and leaving the room.

"Riggins," he said with a curt nod. "You give us a minute?" he asked, pointing between himself and Julie.

Tim stood. "I'll just, uh, I'll just go," he said, sounding more like Matt than Julie cared to admit.

"You'll stay," Julie demanded, though the words came out sounding more like a plea.

"It'll just be a minute. You can wait out on the side patio," Eric pointed in the direction of the sliding glass doors, watching as Tim practically ran to them before escaping outside.

When Tim was gone, Julie felt her father's gaze burning on her again. "What part of being grounded don't you understand?" he spat.

"You said that I couldn't go anywhere besides school and your games. You didn't say anything about guests," she argued, waving her hands through the air as she spoke.

Eric narrowed his eyes, his hands resting on his hips in what Julie liked to call the 'angry coach stance.' She could tell he was realizing she had found the loophole in her punishment and that there was nothing he could do about it.

"Are you going to let Tim back in or not? It's, like, the beginning of November and you sent him out there in a t-shirt," Julie said when she saw his anger start to subside.

Eric shook his head back and forth, chuckling to himself. "Tim!" he yelled, knowing the boy would be able to hear him outside.

As the door slid open, Tim carefully stepped back inside. Julie shot him an 'I'm sorry' look as he rubbed his arms for warmth.

"Yeah, Coach?" he asked guiltily.

"Did you know Julie was grounded?" Eric asked, sending a pointed look at Tim.

Tim nodded. "Yes sir."

Eric nodded slowly, trying to figure out the situation. As he was pondering his next move, Tami reentered the room and whispered something in his ear before sauntering away again. A smirk appeared on his face before he finally spoke.

"You two better be glad we won tonight and I'm in a good mood. Riggins, you can stay until midnight," he said with a final nod.

Julie really hoped his sudden change of heart and smirk didn't mean her dad was about to get lucky. She knew her parents were still _active_, for lack of a better word, but preferred to pretend they weren't.

"But I better not see you darken our door until Julie's punishment is over. Understood?" Eric added as he walked down the hall.

"Uh, yes sir," Tim said after processing his words.

Once he was gone, Julie turned to him. "Come on, let's finish the movie," she said quickly as if nothing had happened as she grabbed his hand and pulled him in front of the TV.

"Okay," Tim said in an uneasy voice as he fell back onto the sofa. "Why the sudden rush? We have, like, an hour before I have to go and the movie's almost over."

Julie focused her gaze on the movie. "Because, as much as I like to ignore it, I know what that smirk on my dad's face means and I want to get my mind off of it as soon as possible," she explained as she felt herself begin blushing.

Tim chuckled. "You mean…" he asked.

Julie nodded, too mortified to explain further.

"Better turn the volume up," Tim commented smarmily, apparently finding the humor in Julie's situation.

Julie turned and glared at him. "Ew," she said plainly before swatting him across the arm.

"I'm kidding, Taylor, relax," he said with an easy grin, shifting to toss his arms across her shoulders and pull him into his side.

Julie was surprised by his sudden bout of affection, but didn't push him away or argue. For some reason, there was something comfortable about being cuddled against Tim's side that she didn't want to fight with.

They watched the rest of the movie in that position, neither of them acknowledging it when he stood to leave. It wasn't until the next day that Julie became aware that their position had been witnessed by another set of eyes that didn't assume it as friendly as they did.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Note: Thanks again for the reviews on the last chapter...a few of you ladies that were commenting early on have been quiet for a few chapters, I'd love to know what y'all are thinking! No Tim/Julie interaction in this chapter, but it does kind of get inside Julie's head a little bit. Enjoy!!_

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The next morning, Tami lured Julie to the mall under the pretenses of buying her a new pair of shoes. Never one to turn down a new pair of shoes, Julie obliged even though she knew the shopping trip would result in a conversation about her newly discovered friendship with Tim Riggins.

As she followed her mother through the tables of shoes in one of the department stores at the mall, examining a pair every now and then, she started to come up with ideas of how to explain it. The best thing, she decided, would be honesty. Surely her mother would understand that she had needed a friend after Matt moved to Chicago and Tim had been available.

While Julie was looking over a particularly interesting pair of animal print heels that she wouldn't be caught dead in, Tami casually slid into the conversation.

"I didn't expect to see Tim Riggins in our living room last night," she said while sliding off one of her boots to try on a pair of brown pumps.

"Yeah," Julie said with a small nod, unable to think of a better answer.

"When did that start up?" Tami asked, trying to sound as innocent and nonchalant as possible.

Julie shrugged. "If by start up you meant when did we become friends, I guess you could say when everyone moved on or left town and we both realized we needed a friend," she offered.

"Well what about Lois?"

"Mom, Lois has a new boyfriend. I honestly haven't seen her outside of school since August," she explained.

Tami looked up from where she was admiring her foot in the new shoe to where Julie was standing. "So, all those nights? Oh," she said, realization flooding her features. "You were with Tim."

Julie nodded, biting her lip. Of course she was nervous. "Right," she said.

"Hon, what I don't understand is why you didn't just tell us right off that you and Tim were hanging around each other," Tami said, turning her attention back to her feet.

"You like these?" she asked while waiting for Julie to answer.

Julie took in a deep breath. "Because I was afraid you would make me quit hanging out with him. And yeah, those are nice," she said, pointing to the shoes.

"Well, you seem to have the answer all figured out," Tami commented as she slid off the new shoe to put her boot back on.

"Yeah, well, I had to explain the same thing to Tim on Wednesday," Julie said, leaning awkwardly against a shoe rack.

"Oh," Tami said, clearly taken back.

Julie nodded. "Are you gonna get those?" she asked, pointing the shoebox in her mom's hand.

"Right, yeah," Tami said with a forced smile. "Hon, there isn't something, you know, going on between you and Tim is there?"

Julie, who had turned and was walking towards the register, stopped and turned to face Tami.

"Of course not," she said immediately.

Tami's eyebrows rose, challenging Julie.

"Mom, why do you think there's something going on between Tim and me?" Julie asked slowly.

"Because I saw the two of you cuddling on the sofa last night," she said matter-of-factly.

Julie narrowed her eyes at Tami. "Were you _spying_ on us?"

Tami rolled her eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, I wasn't _spying_ on you and Tim. I was just getting a glass of water in the kitchen and happened to look over and see you all curled into his side," she defended.

"I wasn't curled into his side," Julie spat with a glare on her face.

Tami nodded. "You were, hon," she reminded her.

"Well, regardless, there is nothing going on between Tim Riggins and myself. We were watching just watching a movie. _As friends_," Julie argued.

"I believe you sweetheart, I just wasn't aware that friends sat that close during movies is all," Tami said flippantly in an attempt to downplay her accusation.

Suddenly, Julie was upset at the suggestion that something was going on between them. "I'll meet you outside," she said with venom before turning to march out of the store.

They were friends; men and women could be friends, right? Definitely, she decided as she swung open the door and stepped out into the sunlight.

--

The ride home was tense and quiet; Julie brooded silently about Tami's meddling in her friendship with Tim, while Tami chose to keep quiet in an effort not to add more fuel to the fire. She knew the explosions that an angry-Julie could result in, and she really wasn't in the mood to deal with that today.

As soon as they pulled up in the driveway, Julie jumped out of the car and raced through the front door, not making any stops between it and her bedroom. When Tami walked through the door a few seconds later, a gaping Eric greeted her.

"What's wrong with Julie?" he asked from his position in the kitchen.

Tami shook her head. "Just girl stuff, hon," she fibbed.

As angry as she was over Julie's recent attitude, she knew that informing her husband about the position she witnessed their daughter in the previous night would be a terrible idea. Not only for Julie's sake, but for Tim's as well. It was one thing accept your daughter cuddling on the sofa with innocent Matt Saracen, but a completely different story when a boy like Tim Riggins was involved.

"Oh," Eric said, realization settling on his face as he resumed stirring the pot of chili on the stove that he had put together while the ladies were gone.

"Alright. Well, I made my award-winning chili while y'all were gone," he said in a quick attempt to change the subject.

Living with three women had definitely taught him that if the words 'girl' and 'stuff' were part of the problem, it was best if he stayed out of it.

"That's great, hon," Tami said distractedly as she plopped down into a chair at the breakfast bar.

As she watched her husband move throughout the kitchen, dropping in spices and other various ingredients into the pot of chili, she couldn't help but wonder why Julie had such a surprising reaction to her comment about Tim. If they were friends, and only friends, Julie would have reacted in a calm, cool manner instead of the defensive way in which she had.

Suddenly, it struck her. Julie, whether she realized it or not, was starting to depend on Tim Riggins, maybe even develop a bit of a crush, and it was only a matter of time before she wanted more than friendship. And, if the content look on Tim's face last night as Julie curled into his side was any indication, she wasn't the only one.


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Note: You already know this, but all of you that have reviewed, alerted, and added this story to your favorites are awesome! So, enjoy this chapter and be sure to let me know what you think! :)_

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After three weeks filled with nothing but family time and homework, Julie was finally a free woman just in time for the Thanksgiving break from school. She was practically aching to get out of the house, to the library or Tim's apartment or even the Alamo Freeze, anywhere to get out of the walls that seemed to be closing in on her.

A brief phone conversation with Matt the day school let out for break, however, left her unsettled and frazzled.

It happened after school; she had a pile of books in one hand and her car keys in another. When her phone rang, she absentmindedly flipped it open without bothering to check to see who the caller was, figuring it was either her mother or Tim.

Instead, she was met with a greeting from Matt, stuttering as he said her name in a voice that seemed to be begging her not to hang up. So, she didn't. He was her first love, after all and it wasn't like _she_ wasn't the one who had initiated the break up. Probably, she concluded, it wouldn't hurt to listen, to give him a chance to say his peace.

Rolling her eyes and wondering why his nervous chatter never bothered her before, she listened as he explained how, for some unknown reason, the airlines were offering deals to college students for Thanksgiving and how he would be home the next day for the rest of the weekend.

As he droned on and on about how he couldn't wait to see her, about how much he missed her and how he had so many stories to tell her all about his new life in Chicago, she wasn't sure if they _fit_ anymore. In fact, minus the stuttering, he sounded like a completely different person—worldly, educated, and confident.

Either way, she agreed that they should definitely catch up while he was in town, maybe get coffee or even go to lunch one day, but she wasn't sure if she really wanted to. After a happy goodbye full of empty promises, the call was ended and Julie pulled out of the parking lot at Dillon High, heading in the direction of Riggins Rigs.

Pulling up, she let a sigh of relief escape her lips when she saw Tim's truck sitting out front. She needed someone to talk to, and he had proven himself to be a great listener, never offering a judgmental comment or remark as she examined the pros and cons of whatever situation she found herself in.

"Tim!" she called out as she entered the garage.

"Over here," she heard him holler from somewhere in the back of the garage.

Walking in the direction of his voice, she found him bent over, his head stuck under the hood of a truck as he examined the engine or changed the oil, she wasn't really sure.

After successfully removing her gaze from his backside, making every effort not to ponder how perfect his worn in jeans fit him, she spoke.

"Hey," Julie said cheerfully, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her jacket.

Tim straightened. "Taylor? Aren't you grounded?" he asked, looking her up and down with confusion on his face.

She shook her head. "Today's my first day of freedom," she said happily, a grin spreading across her face.

Tim smiled. "Well, good thing. My apartment's been awfully lonely the past few weeks," he said with a twinkle in his eye while wiping his hands on his jeans.

"Please," Julie jokingly scoffed, "I'm sure you're had a parade of rally girls in and out since I've been in the Taylor jail."

He shook his head. "Nah," he smirked.

"If you say so," Julie said in an unconvinced tone. "Anyway, do you wanna hang out later?"

"Sure," Tim said, resuming the tinkering he was doing on the truck in front of him. "I'm done around five, wanna order a pizza or somethin'?"

Julie nodded, even though he couldn't see from his position. "Sure, I'll be over then," she said before bouncing off toward the door.

--

"I talked to Matt today," Julie confessed after swallowing a bite of pizza.

They were sitting in Tim's living room, he had yet to acquire a table to eat on, watching TV and exchanging small talk filled with stories from the last couple of weeks, as they ate.

Tim's eyebrows rose in surprise. "How was that?" he asked, his voice bland, indicating exactly how boring he found Matt to be.

"He's going to be in town this week," she said after a brief pause.

Tim nodded slowly, waiting a bit to answer. "So is Lyla," he finally said.

It was Julie's turn to be surprised.

"Apparently, Buddy gets her and her siblings for Thanksgiving, then Tabby gets them for Christmas," he explained before taking a large swig from his beer.

"Are you going to see her?" Julie asked, suddenly worried that Lyla would march back into Dillon and steal her friend away. She did have that way about her.

Tim shrugged. "You gonna see Matt?" he asked, equaling Julie's defensive tone.

"He said he wants to get together so that I can hear all about Chicago and everything, but I don't know if I want to. He seems like a completely different person now, all moved on and big city-like," she said with a sigh before placing her empty plate on the side table and falling back against the cushions of the sofa, a beer cradled in her hands.

"I win," Tim said flatly while mimicking her actions.

Julie turned to him, unaware there was a competition. "What?" she asked, clearly confused as to what he was referring to.

"Lyla's bringing her new boyfriend, Oliver, home for the holiday. He's from Tennessee or Georgia I think. Old money," he said, avoiding her gaze.

Julie took a sharp intake of breath through her teeth. "Ouch," she said, her hand floating across the sofa to rest on Tim's thigh with a reassuring squeeze.

He looked down to where her palm made contact with his jeans, a weird expression on his face, causing Julie to quickly remove her hand.

Tim puffed out his cheeks and exhaled. "Yeah," he answered simply.

"Is Jason coming down?" Julie asked, eager to change the subject.

Tim perked up slightly. "Yeah, he's bringing Noah and Erin," he said with a little bit of enthusiasm. Not enough, however, to convince Julie.

"That's great," Julie said with as much as a grin as she could muster after talking about Matt and Lyla. Both of their exes were a touchy subject.

"Sure," Tim said with a nod.

"Or not?" Julie said, suddenly finding that the beer in her hand was empty.

Standing, she walked into the kitchen for another while waiting for Tim to explain. She had learned that if she waited a few minutes, eventually he would break and tell her how he was feeling.

"I just feel like everyone is going to be doing their own thing on Thanksgiving. Jay will be with his little family, Billy and Mindy are taking the kids on a trip for some weird reason, you'll be with your family, Lyla will be with that new guy and Buddy, and I'll be here. All alone," he said sadly.

Julie frowned as she reentered the living room and resumed her seat next to him on the sofa.

"Come to my house," Julie offered, instantly seeing an image in her mind of her father's head exploding when Tim walked through the door on Thanksgiving Day.

When Tim's face brightened at her suggestion, however, she realized it wouldn't matter. He needed this, needed to feel welcome somewhere on a day that was reserved for being around others. Otherwise, she would likely find him that evening so drunk he wouldn't be able to function properly for days after drowning his loneliness in beer or whiskey.

"You sure?" he asked with a boyish grin.

Julie nodded enthusiastically, even though she wasn't completely sure. "Of course. Mom always loves extra company and I'm sure that my dad wouldn't mind someone to watch football with all day," she said. It wasn't really a lie, but she didn't know if it was the truth.

"Thanks, Taylor," Tim said, reaching across the sofa and wrapping her in a hug.

As Julie sat there, her face cradled against Tim's shoulder, the smell that was unique to him filling her senses, she sent a silent prayer to the heavens that she wouldn't have to rescind her invitation.


	12. Chapter 12

"Wanna go show 'em how it's done?" Tami asked Julie as they watched Eric and Tim walk though the sliding glass doors in the living room and out to the side yard to toss around the football.

It was halftime of the Oakland-Dallas game that the men had been taking in while Tami and Julie slaved in the kitchen, putting together all of the Thanksgiving essentials—turkey, stuffing, various casseroles, and of course, pumpkin pie.

Julie turned to her mother and grinned. "Definitely," she said with a nod.

As they walked through the house and out into the yard, Julie couldn't help but think about how glad she was that she had invited Tim over to spend the day with her family. The more she watched his actions and clear excitement over every little detail of the day, she realized that this was quite possibly the first Thanksgiving in a long time that he had spent with a real family and not a six pack of beer or with a girl from The Landing Strip.

"Well, look who decided to join us," Eric remarked as Julie and Tami stepped out onto the grass.

"We just came out to show you how the Taylor women play football is all," Tami said with an innocent grin.

Julie looked over at Tim and smirked. "Is that so?" he drawled in her direction.

She nodded. "It is. Girls against boys work for y'all?" she asked, her gaze traveling between her father and Tim.

"That's a bad decision, sweetheart," Eric said with a smug grin.

"We'll see about that, babe," Tami responded in a sickly-sweet voice while Julie and Tim chuckled at their banter.

"Let's just play some football," Julie said in her best imitation of her father.

Eric nodded. "Alright, here's the rules," he then launched into a lecture about how the game was to be two-hand touch—no tackling—before marking off the end zones using various items in the yard.

Julie sauntered over to Tim while her father went through his obsessive actions, her long blonde hair flowing behind her.

"You sure you can handle this, Taylor?" Tim smirked as she drew close, making a motion with his hands to signify that he was referring to himself.

She nodded, biting her lower lip. "I'm so sure, Riggins, that I came over to place a little wager," she said confidently.

Tim shot her a questioning look. "Is that right?"

"We win," she pointed across the lawn to Tami, "and you and my dad are in charge of cleaning up after dinner."

"And if we win?"

"You win and…" Julie trailed off, trying to think of something she was willing to give up for Tim.

Tim grinned. "We win and we get the TV uninterrupted for the rest of the day. Football only," he said.

Julie extended her right hand for him to shake. "Deal," she said.

"Deal," Tim said with a nod, taking her hand in his and giving it a firm shake.

The next thirty minutes were full of playful banter, accidental 'tripping', and two touchdowns by each team. Knowing that halftime of the Oakland-Dallas game was nearly over, Eric declared that the next team to score would be victorious.

Julie grinned after hearing his declaration. Even though the boys had the ball, she wasn't about to let them get past the goal line with it. Anything goes, she decided as she watched her father and Tim line up; she was going to do everything within her power to avoid doing the dishes that night.

As Tim darted down the field with the ball, Tami handled Eric who was attempting to throw a block for his former fullback, pushing him into the ground smugly. As he protested from the ground about how tackling wasn't allowed, Tami darted away to help her teammate.

Meanwhile, Julie was narrowing in on Tim. Her strategy was to let him think he had the game won, then sneak over and break his little heart just before he got to the endzone. Which is exactly what she did.

When Tim was within five feet of the endzone, his pace slowing as he surely thought he was in the clear, Julie darted across the yard and into his side, knocking the football from his hands before he tumbled to the ground.

Fumble!

Tami quickly scooped it up and ran in the other direction and in to the endzone untouched. Amazed, Julie skipped over to celebrate while Tim and Eric took a little time to sulk.

"Sorry, Coach," Tim mumbled as the four made their way back inside to either continue watching football or tend to the feast that was cooking in the kitchen.

Eric turned to him. "No worries, Tim. It was just a friendly backyard game of football," he said, reaching across to pat Tim on the back.

"Actually, uh, Julie and I made a little bet before the game," Tim avoided Eric's gaze as he spoke, instead focusing intently on the ground as he walked.

Eric stopped walking. "Well, what did you wager?"

"We have to do the dishes after dinner," Tim admitted, cringing as he said it.

"Damn, Riggins," Eric said, glaring at him.

Tim shrugged innocently. "I figured we would win and then we would have had free reign of the TV for the night," he added as they settled back onto the sofa.

Eric shook his head back and forth.

"Fair enough," he finally said. "Let's just relax now while we can. And remember this: never make a bet with a Taylor woman. They don't like to lose."

--

"Hon, could you bring me some more wine, please?" Tami asked from her position on the sofa, lifting up her wine glass and dangling it above her head.

After finishing dinner, Julie and Tami had taken up residence in the living room as they watched reruns of _Friends_ and listened to Eric and Tim complain in the kitchen.

Eric turned to Tim and glared. Tim shook his head and rolled his eyes in response.

"That wasn't part of the bet, babe," Eric said in an annoyed voice as he scrubbed a particularly dirty pot.

"But I worked so hard all day to put a good meal on the table," Tami said in a sweet voice, attempting to persuade him.

"I got it Coach," Tim broke in.

Eric turned to him. "You sure?"

Tim nodded. "I got us into this, didn't I?" he said as he walked over to get the wine bottle from the refrigerator.

"Well, yeah," Eric said with a chuckle.

"You need anything while I'm in there, Taylor?" Tim asked before he left the kitchen.

"I'm good," Julie said as she bounced Gracie Belle in her lap.

"Here ya go, Mrs. Coach," Tim said as he poured the wine in Tami's glass.

"Thanks, hon," Tami said with a grin before standing. "Here, you stay in here. I'll go help Eric finish up."

Tim shook his head. "I don't mind," he said.

Julie looked to him and grinned. The weird fluttery feeling that kept flipping through her stomach whenever Tim's actions proved his reputation wrong returned. She had to admit, it was kind of adorable the way he was helping in the kitchen and easily inserting himself into their family.

"Bet or no bet, you're a guest in my house. Now sit," Tami said, marching into the kitchen without another word.

"Alright," Tim drawled, defeated, as he collapsed onto the sofa.

Julie shifted her body so that she was facing him.

"I'm glad you came today," she blurted out, hugging her knees to her chest as she spoke.

Where did that come from?

Tim looked at her and smirked. "Me too, Taylor. Thanks for havin' me."

"You wanna hang out this weekend?" Julie asked. More words that she hadn't been able to control.

Tim grinned. "Is that even a question?" he asked.

Julie shook her head back and forth. "I guess not," she admitted with a grin.

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_Author's Note: So, there's Chapter 12. I'll try to get the next one up soon...right now I'm toying with just how drama-filled I want it to be with the exes, so let me know what y'all prefer as well as what you thought of this chapter! Thanks again for all of the sweet reviews and feedback on the last one!! You ladies really are the best._


	13. Chapter 13

Julie was sitting at the kitchen table on Saturday afternoon working on the homework she had been ignoring all week when the doorbell rang. Remembering that her father was playing golf and her mother was at the grocery with Gracie Belle (they had finally gone through all of their Thanksgiving leftovers), she slowly stood to open in.

Without bothering to look through the peephole to see who it was, she swung open the door. After seeing who was standing on the other side, though, she wished she had checked first.

"H-Hey J-Julie," Matt stuttered.

She smiled tightly. "Matt," she said, folding her arms across her chest.

Tense silence surrounded them as they stood there, taking each other in, both examining the situation in their own minds.

"What are you doing here?" Julie finally asked, unsure the cause of the defensiveness in her voice.

It wasn't that she was hurt to see him, but if she was honest with herself she had been avoiding social situations all week so she wouldn't accidentally run into him.

"I just, I just wanted to see you I guess," he explained with a shrug.

Julie nodded. "You wanna come in?" she asked, softening a bit as she moved out of the doorway and began walking back into the house.

"Thanks," Matt said as he followed her inside.

Julie decided to sit on the sofa instead of returning to her position at the kitchen table.

"So, whats up?" she asked as Matt sat down across from her.

He shrugged again. "N-nothing really. My classes are going great; I'm really enjoying them and my teachers say I have a lot of promise, so that's nice."

Julie nodded as she listened.

"But I really miss you, Jules," he added boldly.

She was now speechless, something she never really was. "Don't do this, Matt," she pleaded.

"Do what?" he asked, scooting across the cushions of the sofa so that he was right next to her.

She sighed. "Don't make it hard for me. Don't make me want to take you back, to make you do the whole long distance thing when you should be enjoying school and making new friends," she explained.

"You wouldn't be holding me back, if that's what you think," Matt said gently, lifting his hand to cup her cheek in his palm.

Julie closed her eyes at the feel of his hand on her face. "No," she whispered.

Suddenly, his lips were on hers again and she wasn't sure how to react. The kiss was nice, she would admit that much, but the usual butterflies and rush of energy that flew through her when they used to kiss was gone. It just felt like one body part touching another, really.

Tears filled her eyes at the sudden realization that this was it, that they were over, that she didn't want him anymore. Though they had ended everything a couple of months ago on the phone, this confirmed it. When his kiss held nothing for her anymore, she knew they were done.

--

Tim was playing video games in his apartment when a banging on the door interrupted him. After yelling that he was on his way to greet whoever it was, he paused the game and stood to walk to the door.

"Garrity," he drawled as he opened the door. "Where's the boyfriend?" he asked, peering over her shoulder to see if she was alone.

"In Tennessee," she said blankly.

Tim narrowed his eyes at her. "Did he dump you so soon?" he asked with venom in his voice as he leaned against the doorway.

Lyla glared at him. "No, he didn't. He flew back yesterday to see his family," she explained.

"Right," Tim said, accepting her answer. "How did you find me?" he asked, suddenly remembering that he hadn't informed her of his move.

"I went by your old house. Billy told me you moved out," she said.

Tim made a mental note to hurt Billy the next time he saw him.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" Lyla asked after a silence settled between them.

"Why are you here, Garrity?" Tim asked, not moving to let her in.

"I just wanted to see you, I guess. We are friends, you know," she said with a weak smile.

Tim shook his head, his hair falling across his eyes. "We were never _just _friends," he argued.

"Can I come in or not?" Lyla asked. It seemed that she was suddenly irritated.

Tim made a point of sighing loudly before moving out of the way. "I guess so," he said as he followed her into the apartment.

He watched as she plopped down on his sofa like she owned the place.

"How's Vanderbilt?" Tim asked as he went into the kitchen for a beer.

If he was going to deal with Lyla, he was going to need a drink. Too bad he didn't have any liquor handy.

"It's great," Lyla said from the living room, all chirpy and high-pitched like she always was.

"That's nice," Tim drawled, already kind of bored and just wishing she would leave already.

"How are things going for you?" Lyla asked as Tim joined her in the living room.

He shrugged. "You know, just working at the garage with Billy."

Lyla smiled. "You look good," she said with an eager nod.

He turned to her, scrutinizing her comment as he did. "You have a boyfriend," he reminded her after seeing a lustful look appear in her eyes.

She shook her head back and forth, her bottom lip captured between her teeth. The action made him think of Julie.

And then, she shrugged, like none of it mattered. "He's in Tennessee," she repeated, climbing across the sofa to straddle his lap.

"Lyla, what are you doing?" Tim asked, grabbing her shoulders and attempting to push her away as she wound her arms around his neck.

She leaned in. "I'm just doing what we do best, Tim," she said, bringing her lips to his.

At first, Tim fought kissing her back. She had a boyfriend and he didn't want to be the other man, the one that she regretted when she went back to Nashville because she had a moment of weakness when she was at home…the mistake that he always was when it came to her.

But then, he thought about how good he had been since August when she left—living on his own, no longer bedding rally girls or going to The Landing Strip.

And damn, if it just didn't feel good to have someone, anyone, on top of him again.

So, he kissed her back hungrily, thrusting his tongue into her mouth as she wound her hands through his hair, pulling herself closer to him. Tim groaned into her mouth. Definitely, this definitely was okay.

--

"Matt, stop," Julie said, placing her hands on his chest and pushing him away.

Matt looked at her like his puppy had just died. "What?" he asked innocently.

"Stop kissing me. Stop telling me you miss me and that I'm not holding you back because I know that as soon as you step on that plane back to Chicago, I will be. So just stop. Just go," she pleaded.

When he didn't move, she continued. "I don't want you anymore, Matt," she added as the final stab in the heart.

He looked shocked, hurt. "Is there s-someone else?"

She shook her head. "No," she said immediately, even though Tim's face flashed through her mind. "There isn't anyone else."

"Then what's the problem, Julie? I love you," Matt pleaded, reaching across the sofa to take his hands in hers.

Julie bit her lip, closing her eyes as she spoke. "I love you too, Matt, but not like that. Not anymore," she said, her voice dropping closer to a whisper with each word.

Determined not to look at him, she waited until she felt the weight of the cushions shift before opening her eyes to see his back as he rushed out of the house.

"Goodbye Julie," he said once he reached the hallway.

"Bye," she said weakly to his retreating figure, her voice echoing through the quiet house.

--

When they were done, Tim immediately climbed out of his bed and stalked into his bathroom to take a shower, leaving her tangled in his sheets. He wanted every ounce of Lyla off of him—her scent, her touch, the feel of her kisses.

The sex had been good, as it always was between them, but there was no emotion, nothing that made it feel important to him. In the same second he had thrust into her, he instantly regretted the decision to allow her into his bed again. But by then, it was too late to stop, so he focused all of his energy on his own release, bored with trying to please her and finishing quickly.

Shit, he sounded like a girl. He needed to find another friend besides Julie. Someone with more testosterone or something.

Walking back into his room, he found Lyla scowling as she put her clothes back on.

"You can leave as soon as your dressed," he spat as he watched her, only half of his body covered with a towel and his wet hair dripping around his face.

She looked up at him, surprised. "I thought you wanted this," Lyla accused with narrowed eyes.

"I did want _it_, you were just a willing body," Tim said, using words that he knew would sting, would get her to leave as soon as possible while at the same time making himself feel better.

He watched as her frown deepened while she busied herself buttoning her shirt and pulling on her jeans. When she was done, she slid on her boots and stomped to the front door. Tim followed behind, ready to drive one last nail in the coffin.

As she pulled open the door, he hammered it in. "You know Lyla, I would think that all the money you're spendin' on that fancy school, you'd learn the meaning of fidelity. Guess not," he spat to her back.

She didn't respond, merely lifting her hand in an offending gesture before stomping down the stairs. Smirking as he moved back into his apartment, he knew that he had hurt her just as she had hurt him so many times—with Jason, with that uber-Christian guy, and then when she moved on so quickly once she got to Vanderbilt.

After grabbing two more beers from the refrigerator, chugging the first and then carrying the second with him, he carried himself back to his room to put on some clothes.

Julie, he suddenly remembered, was coming over later to hang out.

* * *

_Author's Note: So, there you have it...the exes. Thoughts? Did I take it too far or not far enough? I promise the Tim/Lyla thing is the last of Lyla for this story, so don't worry she won't reappear. I've already mapped out the next couple of chapters and can't wait to share them with you ladies...so the more you review, the quicker you get them! _

_I can't wait to hear all of your thoughts on this chapter (good or bad)! _


	14. Chapter 14

_Author's Note: Thank you for the fabulous reviews on the last chapter. I'm so glad that so many of you are enjoying the story and the way that I handled the exes. _

_As far as this chapter goes, there is plenty of Tulie goodness for y'all, so enjoy!!_

* * *

"Hello, beer," Julie said sarcastically as Tim opened the door to his apartment later that evening.

He glared at her before wordlessly walking back inside, motioning for her to follow him.

"Did you drink all of those?" she asked in shock, pointing at the coffee table that was littered with empty beer bottles as she entered the living room.

Tim nodded but didn't answer verbally as he collapsed onto the sofa, taking with him the half-empty beer from the table.

"What _happened_?" she demanded, sitting down close to him and waiting for him to answer.

"Lyla," he finally said, spitting her name out like it literally made his tongue burn or left a sour taste in his mouth.

"Did you see her somewhere or did she call you? I need a few more details than what you're giving me right now Tim," Julie said, resting her hand on his thigh as she urged him to speak.

He turned to her, a blank look in his eyes. "She came by," he said with a frown as he lifted his feet to rest on the coffee table.

"And?"

"And," Tim paused, avoiding her gaze before he spoke, "we slept together."

Julie, for the second time that day, was speechless as the only noise filling the room came from the football game on TV.

Tim nodded. "Then I told her that she was just a willing body and that she hasn't learned the definition of fidelity yet," he continued.

Even though Tim regretted sleeping with Lyla, the fact that he was able to play with her emotions afterwards kind of made it worth it. It was almost like he felt a twisted sense of accomplishment.

Julie giggled. "You didn't," she said, reaching across and smacking him playfully on the chest.

Her eyes widened at her actions. What was that? Was she _flirting_ with Tim? Of course not, she reasoned that she simply wasn't a big fan of Lyla Garrity and liked the fact that he had put her in her place for once. She didn't deserve to get away with the way she treated Tim. Or anyone for that matter.

"I did," he confirmed, probably too drunk to realize what she had just done or to notice that she found it strangely funny.

"And fidelity, such a big word for you," she joked.

"Ouch," Tim said, feigning hurt.

Julie playfully rolled her eyes. "I kid, I kid," she assured him with a chuckle.

"If you say so, Taylor," Tim said, now grinning as he shook his head back and forth.

"In related news, I saw Matt today," Julie said, sensing that Tim was ready to change the subject.

Tim turned to her with wide eyes. "Two exes in one day?"

Julie nodded. "It was terrible. He told me that he still loved me," she confessed.

Tim frowned at the weird pang her confession caused in the pit of his stomach. Even though he was well on his way to being significantly drunk, he knew that Matt was still important to Julie.

But why did it bother him?

"So I told him that I still loved him but not like that and then he left," she continued while Tim sat there silently.

"Damn," Tim finally said. The beer had seriously cut down on his reaction time.

"What?" Julie asked.

He shook his head. "You sure know how to beat a guy down," Tim explained.

"By not stringing him along?" she asked.

Tim nodded.

"Well maybe I should have just slept with him or something. I'm sure _that_ would have helped the situation," Julie said, throwing his earlier actions in his face as she grew defensive all of a sudden.

She instantly regretted her remark as the look on Tim's face grew dark. "You seemed to think it was the perfect solution for me earlier," he said defiantly.

Julie glared at him. "It's different for you," she said without thinking, the volume of her voice raising as she did.

"How it is different, Taylor? Tell me," Tim demanded.

They were now facing each other on the sofa, their faces inches apart as they argued.

"Because it is," she said, immediately realizing that she sounded like a stubborn child.

"It's because of my reputation, right? I'm Tim Riggins and I sleep with everyone so it's okay for me to sleep with my ex when she's home from college? It's practically a mercy fuck to show her what's she's missing," he argued, suddenly feeling very sober.

Julie bit her lip, unable to think of a response. The TV hummed in the background as they sat frozen, eyes locked, challenging.

"It's good to know how you really feel," Tim finally said after a period of tense silence.

Julie could see the hurt pooling in his eyes.

She shook her head. "No, it's not that," she whispered, reaching across the small space between them to wrap her hand around his forearm.

"Then what is it?" Tim said, his voice practically a growl as he spoke, even though he made no effort to remove his arm from under her hand.

When she spoke, her voice was softer than earlier. "It's just with Matt, I do still care about him, but not in that way. I want him to be happy and I know it won't be with me. With you and Lyla it's different. What you did this afternoon probably hurt her, but she deserved it after the way she treated you," Julie said in a rush.

Tim was silent for a bit before speaking. "No one deserves that," he said in a whisper, his gaze trained to the ground.

Julie reached across the small space separating them and cupped his face in her hands, using them to lift his head so that he was forced to meet her eyes. He needed to hear what she had to say, even if she had to force him to listen.

"Tim, you didn't deserve the way that Lyla treated you. By all accounts, you were a great boyfriend to her while the two of you were together and then she dumped you as soon as she got to what _she_ thought was better. But you know what? If I know anything about Lyla, _she_ didn't deserve _you_," she said, saying every word carefully as she held his gaze through her entire spiel.

"And you're better off without her," she added as a last second thought.

Tim allowed the shadow of a grin to flicker across his face. He nodded, her hands still cupping his cheeks as he did. Something about her words, the look in her eyes, made him believe what she said.

Then, the next thing Julie knew, his eyes were closing and he was leaning across the air separating them before meeting his lips to hers.

Instantly, two random thoughts flew into Julie's mind. The first was that this kiss, even though Tim had been drinking and it was basically a peck, was on a completely different level than the one she had shared with Matt just hours earlier. In fact, she was pretty sure it made her lips tingle during it's short existence.

The second was fight or flight. Should she push him away, tell him that they were just friends and then stay and hang out? Or would the wise move be to jump up and run away? In a split second she chose neither, opting instead for reason and allowing Tim to explain his actions.

"What are you doing?" Julie asked as she pushed him off of her.

Tim stared at her blankly. "I, I don't know," he said.

Except, he did. In fact, if memory served him correctly, every time he found himself in an awkward situation with a member of the opposite sex, he usually resorted to using his lips for something other than talking. It was his defense mechanism.

"Why did you just kiss me?" she asked as she distanced herself from him on the sofa.

Tim hung his head down, his hair curtaining his face.

"It seemed like the right thing to do in the moment," he said, his voice low and sad, not wanting to dive into his emotions right now and hoping he hadn't messed up their friendship.

When he finally looked up, Julie could see the vulnerability in his eyes. He thought she was going to leave, she realized.

"It's just the beer," she finally said with a firm nod, attempting to convince both herself and him. "Right?"

"Uh, yeah," Tim said, uncertainly in his voice. Probably it was a good idea just to agree with her.

Julie turned to him and grinned, attempting to dissolve the tension floating around them. "Wanna watch a movie or something? I'll even watch _Fight Club_ if you want to," she suggested.

Finally, Tim laughed. "No _Fight Club_, please. Wanna just see what's on TV?"

"Sure," Julie nodded, relieved that the awkward tension their kiss had caused seemed to be lifting.

Tim grew silent as he flipped through the channels, finally settling on _When Harry Met Sally_. Apparently, as he shared with Julie, Mindy always raved about it whenever he was over at her and Billy's and he wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Julie was surprised that he wanted to watch such a girly movie, but after the awkwardness of the evening so far, she didn't argue.

As they settled in to watch the lives of Harry and Sally intersect, it seemed that everything had returned to normal. Cuddling into Tim's side as she had developed a habit of doing whenever they watched movies, she figured that the kiss they shared was now an afterthought and allowed her mind to fully focus on the characters in front of her.

--

An hour and a half later, the movie was over and any notions of normalcy returning to her friendship with Tim that Julie still held were starting to dwindle. If there was ever any doubt in her mind that she and Tim could just be friends, the movie made her question it even more.

Luckily, Tim seemed to be slowly coming down from his drunkenness and hadn't noticed the parallels between the movie and their life. Also, she was pretty sure he took a little nap halfway through, if the heavy breathing in her ear as she watched Harry and Sally's friends attempt to set them up on blind dates was any indication.

But even if Tim didn't notice the messages it seemed like the movie was screaming at them to absorb, Julie definitely did.

Like, for example, how Harry and Sally kind of hated each other in the beginning. Not that she ever hated Tim, but they hadn't always been friends. Then the whole male/female friend debate definitely hit home; especially the fact that in the beginning, Sally had been adamant that they could, but by the end, the duo had fallen in love with one another, all thoughts of an innocent friendship gone from their minds no matter how badly they wanted it.

"Cute movie," Tim commented as the ending credits flashed up on the screen.

Julie turned her head to look up at him. "Did you just refer to something as cute?" she asked.

Tim nodded, giving her a 'what are you going to do about it look.'

Julie just grinned, shaking her head against his shoulder.

"What did you think about it? Besides it being cute," Julie asked, wanting to hear his opinion, hoping he caught on to the friend thing or that maybe that he thought they could be an exception to the rule.

"Are you, like, wanting me to analyze it or somethin', Taylor?"

Julie nodded. "I guess so," she said.

"I think Harry was right all along. Men and women can't be friends," he said, staring at her intently.

Julie's mouth fell open. She couldn't tell if he was serious or not due to his hair falling in front of his eyes, hiding the clues they held.

"So, what is this then?" she asked, gesturing between them with her hand.

"We're friends," Tim said, completely contradicting himself.

Julie cocked an eyebrow at him.

"For now," he said with a wink, like he knew something she didn't.

Julie's eyes widened. "Wait, what?" she asked, completely flabbergasted all of a sudden and jumping out from under his arm. Probably being in such close proximity wasn't a great idea.

Tim smirked. "Relax, Taylor. I was kidding," he said. "Really," he added when the look on Julie's face told him she wasn't as convinced as he was, casually poking her in the side as he spoke.

Julie nodded as she accepted his statement, though she wasn't so sure she believed it. Because, if the reaction her body had to their kiss earlier was any indication, she was quickly on her way to finding the exit to the friend zone, whether she wanted to or not.


	15. Chapter 15

By the time late December rolled around, Julie and Tim were still firmly in the friend zone. With each passing day, however, Julie grew more and more convinced that it was just a matter of time before a hug lingered a little too long or one of them would initiate a kiss and that the exit sign would be right in front of them—complete with flashing neon letters.

She was surprised, though, to realize that the closer they became, the fonder she became with the idea of a romantic relationship with Tim. At first, she was worried that it would end in disaster, leaving her alone and friendless until she could escape to college.

But then, something changed. Julie wasn't sure if it was the new look in his eyes every time they were together, or the goose bumps that would rise every time their skin came into even the briefest of contacts. It was almost like she was seeing little, less obvious signs proclaiming that the exit to the friend zone was coming up—ten miles ahead, then seven, then five, and so on.

Because really, she knew, it was only a matter of time.

On the morning of Christmas Eve, Julie was surprised to find Tim on their doorstop, a small package in his hand. After a quick hug, she welcomed him in, telling him to follow her into the kitchen.

Tami was standing at the stove, whipping up some homemade hot chocolate that she offered to them both as they plopped down in the chairs at the breakfast bar.

"I, uh, brought this for you. Well, your whole family, actually," Tim said awkwardly, holding up the gift he had brought with him as they watched Tami dart around the kitchen.

The way he cradled in his hands made Julie think of what a bomb squad officer would look like holding a box that might explode at any second.

"That's sweet of you, hon, you know it wasn't necessary," Tami said with a grin.

Tim nodded as he rested it on the counter. "It's nothing fancy, just something I thought you might all like, seein' as how you've been so welcoming of me these past few months."

"Jules, why don't you open it up?" Tami asked casually.

"No," Tim said quickly. Tami and Julie shot questioning glances at him. "I mean, wait to open in on Christmas," he explained.

Julie gave him a weird look. "We're leaving for my grandparents house in the morning," she reminded him.

"I know," he said, his eyes smiling. "Just open it before you go or somethin'."

"O-kay," Julie said, narrowing her eyes at him questioningly.

Tim winked. Julie blushed.

Friend zone, friend zone, she chanted to herself as his knee brushed against hers under the counter. A little voice inside her head repeated, 'Exit, three miles.'

"Well, I guess y'all need to pack and stuff, so I'll just go. Merry Christmas, Mrs. Coach," Tim said before turning to Julie. "Taylor, walk me out?"

"Sure," Julie said, wondering what he was up to.

Once they were outside, he adjusted his stance so that they were at the same eye level.

"Just wanted to tell you Merry Christmas," he said before pulling her into a hug on the doorstep.

Julie wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in his scent and using every ounce of willpower she had to not touch her lips to his skin.

"So, I'll see you when you get back?" Tim asked when he pulled away.

Julie nodded. "You're going to Billy and Mindy's right?"

Tim grinned. "Yeah," he said and Julie could tell he was happy to be building family memories with his brother.

"Good," Julie said with a final nod as she backed towards the door.

"Merry Christmas, Julie," he said with a final smirk before hopping into his truck.

Julie grinned as she stood and watched him drive away, realizing it was the first time in a long time that he had called her by her first name.

--

The next morning, while the rest of her family darted around the house, gathering packages and suitcases and other various items that they would need for the next few days while visiting her grandparents for the holidays, Julie snuck over to where she had left the gift from Tim the day before.

After finding it, she took it to her room to open it in private. Even though Tim had said it was for the entire family, you just never know.

Lifting the tissue paper out of the holiday bag, she pulled out the card he had placed inside. Setting it aside to read later, she reached back into the bag, pulling out a small item wrapped in more tissue paper.

Instead of guessing what it could or couldn't be, she hastily tore off the paper to reveal a Christmas tree ornament in the shape of a lion. Grinning, she noticed that written on the bottom of the lion's feet in Tim's tiny, structured writing were the words, "Go Lions!"

Figuring that the card might reveal more about the significance of the gift, she reached for it and eagerly began to read through it.

_Dear Coach, Mrs. Coach, Julie, and Gracie Belle,_

_I found this lion ornament in a cheesy gift shop in Midland last week and immediately thought of your family. I figured y'all had enough Panther memorabilia, so here's something new to start your Lion collection._

_You guys know I'm not very good with words and expressing my emotions, so this gift is my way of saying thank you, to your entire family, for believing in me when no one else did and when I gave you every reason not to. For all the meals and late night ping-pong games. But most importantly, for showing me what a real family is supposed to be like. I can only hope that one day I will be lucky enough to have what you all do. _

_Merry Christmas to you all,_

_Tim Riggins_

Julie read through the card twice, understanding why Tim didn't want them to open it in his presence; he would have surely felt awkward watching them reading his heartfelt words.

Sensing that she wasn't alone, she looked up to see Tami standing in the doorway watching her.

"Uh, hey," Julie said, dropping the card. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you open the card and read through it at least twice," Tami said with a grin.

"Oh, well this is Tim's gift," she explained, dangling the lion ornament between her fingers.

Tami grinned at the trinket. "Your father will like that," she said.

Julie nodded. "He will," she agreed. "Read this," she said, holding out the letter for Tami to read.

Julie waited as Tami scanned the letter.

"Wow," she said when she was finished. "Didn't think he had it in him," she commented.

Julie smirked. "Neither did I," she confessed.

"Jules, Tami, we need to leave in five," Eric bellowed as he walked down the hall, suitcases in hand, interrupting their conversation.

"We better go. You know how your dad gets when we run late," Tami said suddenly. "Why don't you bring that to give to your dad later?" She gestured to the card in Julie's hands.

"Sure," Julie said before gathering the card and the gift together and standing to arrange her things.

As she made sure all of the lights were off in her room before exiting, she made a mental note to call and thank Tim as soon as she could get a little time alone at her grandparent's house.

--

After a long day of family bonding, Julie finally found time to sneak away to the room she was sleeping in and call Tim. He answered on the second ring.

"Taylor," he drawled. Julie figured he checked the caller ID.

"Hey, I uh, opened your gift this morning," she said, smiling through the phone.

"Is that right?"

"Yeah," she said. "Everyone loved it. So, uh, thanks."

"It wasn't a big deal," Tim answered in his typical, nonchalant drawl.

"I know, but it meant a lot, especially to my dad," she said, falling back onto the bed and absentmindedly twirling a lock of hair in between her fingers.

Tim told her that she was welcome, that he was glad to do it, before they delved into a lighthearted conversation about their family Christmas's. Julie shared a hilarious story about her grandmother and the massive amount of whiskey that she had consumed before dinner, resulting in a face plant at the table, while Tim recounted how the Collette matriarch bought fancy underwear for every member of the family that made gift opening very awkward.

"So, when are you heading back to Dillon?" Tim asked when story-time slowed down.

Julie sighed. "Not until the thirtieth. Unfortunately I have four more days of Taylor bonding," she said.

Tim chuckled on the other side of the line. "You got New Years Eve plans?"

"I think New Years Eve is kind of overrated, so no plans," Julie answered.

"Agreed," Tim paused. "Want to enjoy the overrated-ness of the day together?"

"Sounds great," Julie answered instantly.

Tim chuckled again. "Alright, well I hear an angry Tyra outside of my old room mumbling something about helping clean up, so I better go," he said.

Julie laughed, picturing Tim hiding out from his family as he talked to her. "Good luck with that," she said in between giggles.

"See ya in a few days, Taylor," Tim said in response.

"See ya," she echoed before disconnecting the call.

As she sat up and wandered back out to where her family was gathered, a silly grin on her face, she couldn't deny the little voice in her head saying, 'Friend zone exit: 2 miles.'

* * *

_Author's Note: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Next up is New Years Eve, which always turns out to be interesting, right? I haven't written the chapter yet, so if there's anything specific you would like to see happen, feel free to shoot me a message or let me know in the review. You ladies are awesome, as always, and I can't wait to get your feedback on this one!_


	16. Chapter 16

Although he didn't allow himself to dwell on the fact, Tim had secretly been looking forward to spending New Years with Julie from the minute he invited her. It was an impulse invite, really, but one that he was glad he had extended.

As the day grew closer, he found himself actually planning what they would do—something he had never in his short life done before. For anyone. Would she come over before or after dinner? Was she going to spend the night or would she go home after the New Year had officially reached Dillon, Texas? Were they going to do the traditional sharing of resolutions before the clock struck twelve? Most importantly, would they kiss at midnight?

Of course, none of his questions were answered when she arrived on his doorstep that evening around eight, except for the one about dinner (she had eaten with her family before coming over). If anything, they were only intensified due to the sudden change in the air she caused; especially the one about the kissing.

Maybe it was because she was wearing the tightest pair of jeans Tim had even seen on a girl that wasn't attempting to seduce her way into his bed, or maybe it was the way her hair was curled down her back instead of it's usual sleek, straight look. Or maybe it was because she seemed to have on a little more eyeliner, a little more lipstick than usual.

Whatever it was, Tim wasn't complaining. In fact, he felt a smirk appear on his lips as he not so secretly skimmed his eyes from her head to her toes before inviting her inside, noticing the cloth grocery bag on her shoulder. Shaking his head as he watched her hips sway in front of him as she pranced into the kitchen, he suddenly wished he had worn something other than his most worn pair of jeans and an old Panthers shirt. Apparently he was the only one who thought this was going to a low-key evening.

"Got a hot date later, Taylor?" Tim asked casually as he rounded his way into the kitchen where he found Julie pulling things out of a bag.

She turned to him and smirked. Tim knew he was a goner.

"You'll never know," she said mischievously.

"Is that right?" Tim drawled, walking closer to examine what she was doing.

She nodded in response as he landed at her side.

Reaching over to turn the bottle she was placing on the counter so that he could read the label, he grinned when he saw what it was: champagne.

"What are we celebratin'?" he asked, not bothering to ask how she had managed to buy it underage. It didn't really matter.

Julie chuckled. "I don't know, Tim. Maybe the new year," she said with a hint of humor in her voice as she bent over to pull a second bottle out of her bag and place it on the counter before lowering herself again.

"Two bottles?" Tim asked, his smirk transforming into a grin.

Julie straightened and turned to face him, a third bottle in her hand.

"Three actually, and, you know they're small bottles so it's only like two glasses a person per bottle and we've got," she looked at the clock on the wall behind Tim's head, "four hours until the ball drops."

Tim laughed at the thoroughness of Julie's answer; he would have settled for a simple yes.

Before he could stop himself, he was reaching across the space separating them and pulling her into a warm hug. "God, I missed you," he drawled into her hair as her familiar vanilla scent swirled around him.

Julie squealed as he lifted her off the ground. "It was only, like, six days," she reminded him.

"I know," Tim said, placing her back on her feet.

"I missed you too, though," Julie added to her previous statement, wrapping a hand around his bicep as she did.

Tim grinned down at her as he slid his right hand through his hair. "Here," he said, extending his hand for one of the bottles. "I'll open it."

"Thanks," Julie said with a smile as she handed one over.

"I don't have any, uh, champagne glasses," Tim said with an awkward shrug as he began to uncork the bottle.

Julie grinned before crouching down to remove yet another item from her bag. When she stood, a proud smirk on her face, she was holding a set of plastic champagne glasses wrapped in plastic.

"Well aren't you prepared," Tim said with a joking eye roll.

Julie shrugged. "Nothing fancy, but I know you only have plastic cups here," she said.

"Fair enough," he conceded.

A loud pop broke there conversation as Tim successfully removed the stubborn cork and hurried over to the kitchen sink so that it wouldn't spill all over the floor.

Looking over at Julie as he attempted to let as little liquid fall from the bottle as possible, he saw her unwrapping the glasses and rushing over to him, laughter falling from her lips.

He absolutely adored her laugh; it was completely happy and carefree.

"Tilt the glass," he instructed her as she held it out for him to pour.

After both of the glasses had plenty of champagne in them, Tim stuffed the cork back in the bottle and stuck it, along with the other two bottles, in the refrigerator to chill. Champagne was supposed to be chilled, right? He was pretty sure he had heard that somewhere before.

"So, what are we going to do tonight?" Julie asked from where she was sitting on the sofa, bouncing up and down.

Tim smirked, suddenly recalling that she preferred to have a plan for even the smallest event.

"We could…" Tim started, his voice trailing off as he thought of options. "Watch a movie, watch TV, play a game," he offered.

"Let's play a game," Julie said eagerly, interrupting his listing of activities.

Tim groaned internally. Of course she would choose that option and of course he didn't have any board games. He was, after all, Tim Riggins.

"Yeah, see the thing is, I don't exactly have any games," Tim said weakly.

Julie laughed. "Do you have any quarters?" she asked with wide eyes.

Tim narrowed his eyes at her as he stuck his hand into the pocket of his jeans. He knew what happened when Julie played quarters. Bad things…or good, depending on your perspective.

Finding a couple, he held out his hand, palm up, with two quarters settled in it.

Julie's face lit up. "I'm great at quarters," she said proudly, sitting up straighter on the sofa as she did.

"I know," Tim drawled. "Want me to get some beer?" he asked.

Julie shook her head. "In the spirit of the evening, I think we should play with champagne," she suggested.

Tim glared at her. "I think that's a bad idea, Taylor," he said because, well, it was. "Don't you remember the last time I brought you home drunk?"

Julie nodded, doing that thing where she trapped her bottom lip between her teeth again—one of Tim's weaknesses, he had realized lately.

"That's why I told my parents I was with Tyra since she's in town. Don't worry, I told her, too. You know, in case they get suspicious," she explained slowly, carefully it seemed.

Tim smirked; another question answered. She was staying the night. He tried to ignore the little butterflies in the pit of his stomach that started to flutter with her explanation. Tonight was no different than any of the nights before she had spent on his sofa, right?

Wrong. And he knew it; Julie hadn't slept on his sofa since the awkward night that he had kissed her unexpectedly. Though neither of them chose to acknowledge it, there was a different dynamic to their friendship since that evening. Almost, he knew, like they were headed in a new, scary, direction.

While his mind was traveling to other places, Julie had gone to kitchen and retrieved one of the bottles of champagne as well as cups more suitable for the drinking game she had suggested.

They decided to sit on the floor and play on the coffee table, seeing as how Tim had yet to acquire a real table. Julie sat cross-legged, while Tim extended his long legs under the table, casually resting his knee against hers.

After a couple of rounds of back and forth—Julie would get a quarter in, then Tim would—their drinks had significantly depleted. Tim handled refills, while Julie started what was her fourth turn.

Tim shook his head back and forth as he watched Julie's quarter land in the cup, resulting in a drink for him. Her success resulted in a second try, which landed in the cup as well, another drink for Tim and another turn for her. The third try was also a charm, giving Julie the opportunity to make up her own rule.

"What's it gonna be, Taylor?" Tim drawled with a wink, suddenly feeling bolder as the alcohol soared through him.

Was it just him, or did the bubbly liquid lead to a much quicker buzz than his usual beer?

Julie's lips were pursed, her fingers tapping thoughtfully on the table.

Tim's eyes were drawn to the adorable look on her face as she contemplated what he was sure would be a rule that would lead to his demise.

"I've got it," Julie finally drawled, her voice holding more of a Texas twang than usual, confirming Tim's suspicion that the champagne was affecting them.

"Shoot," Tim said.

Julie licked her lips. "For the rest of the night," she began, rising so that her weight was balanced on her knees as she leaned closer to him.

Tim interjected, "Game."

"Night," Julie corrected and Tim didn't argue this time. Probably because she looked so damn good tonight he couldn't bring himself to do it.

"You, Tim Riggins, will be at my beck and call," she concluded while he stared at her.

Tim narrowed his eyes at her in an attempt to look angry, but the smirk on his lips revealed his real opinion—he was completely okay with Julie ordering him around.

"That's rough, Taylor," he said in an attempt to cover his joy.

"Please, you're thrilled," she said boldly.

Tim lifted his eyebrows, challenging. "I am?"

She nodded, a smirk playing on her lips. "You are."

Apparently, the alcohol was making her bolder, too.

Tim sighed. "What's my first task?" he asked, adding a roll of his eyes for emphasis.

"More champagne, please," she said, holding out her glass to him. "I mean, champagne. Now. You're pretty much my slave for the evening, and slaves don't get words like please," she amended.

Tim smirked as he stood. "Your wish is my command," he said sarcastically, resulting in a playful slap on his calf from Julie before he sauntered into the kitchen.

--

Julie watched as Tim walked into the kitchen to get the second bottle of champagne they would be sharing for the evening, her view only a little distorted by the alcohol. She definitely wasn't drunk, but she was getting close.

It was, she realized after glancing at her watch, only ten o'clock. She knew they should slow down the drinking, or that at the very least she should, but she also knew she wouldn't. It was too much fun.

"Alright, Taylor, what's next?" Tim asked as Julie watched him reenter the room.

Had those jeans always fit so perfectly, always hung so expertly from his hips like they were made for him only? Shaking her head before coming to an answer, she responded to Tim.

"Sit," she demanded.

Tim chuckled before obeying, then turned to face her for another order.

Julie shook her head. "That's all for now," she said.

Really, she couldn't think of anything else at the moment. All she had wanted earlier was more champagne; making him her slave for the evening was just a silly perk that she wanted to see a reaction from.

Neither Tim nor Julie had bothered to move from the floor back to the sofa, instead they were sitting on the floor, legs stretched out in front of them, with their backs against the cushions.

Glancing to her right, Julie allowed her eyes to scan Tim. Mainly because he seemed to be engrossed by the cheesy New Years coverage on TV, but also because the alcohol was working its magic and she really didn't care if he caught her staring. Okay, maybe she did, but that was neither here nor there.

She started with his stomach, which she could see the outline of through his Panthers shirt and secretly wanted to reach out and touch, claim as her own. But she didn't; instead, she moved her eyes up to his shoulders, his neck, and finally to his perfect jaw, dusted with a bit of stubble and the bottom fringes of his hair that her fingers were practically aching to run through.

For the first time, she realized what all of the hoopla was about, why the rally girls and the cheerleaders and even Lois swooned in Tim's presence. He was beautiful.

When she moved on to his face, appreciating his lips and nose and cheekbones, Tim must have felt her examining gaze, finally, and she watched as his head turned, a smirk on his lips.

Shit. Busted.

She felt an embarrassed flush creep up her neck and cover her face as she quickly looked away, wanting nothing more than to pretend that she hadn't been caught ogling Tim Riggins like a rally girl in heat.

Hearing Tim chuckle from where he was sitting, she rolled her eyes and reached for the remote, tired of watching this New Years crap, but instead her hand landed on his thigh, too high for its own good.

She immediately turned to face Tim and quickly removed it. "Ugh, sorry," she mumbled before moving over to make more space between them. More blushing and she suddenly felt thirteen again.

"No worries," Tim smirked, moving closer to her to dissolve the space she had just placed between them.

"What are you doing?" she asked defensively as he moved closer.

His smirk deepened. "What does it look like I'm doin'?"

Julie shrugged, biting that damn lip again.

Her eyes widened as Tim's hands reached up to cup both sides of her face, the same movement she had used over a month again when she had been trying to talk some sense into him.

Only his actions had a little more meaning than hers as he inched his head towards hers, stopping suddenly when less than a centimeter of space separated their lips. Julie could feel his breath, a mixture of champagne and, well, Tim, on her lips, making them tingle in anticipation.

She could tell he was waiting for her to tell him it was okay to take the next step, to close the tiny gap between them and change everything. Suddenly feeling very, very sober, she did.

Their lips touched and his hands slid back to sink into her hair as they kissed slowly, carefully, knowing that they had plenty of time to examine each other's mouths and get used to this new, strange feeling.

Grinning into his lips, Julie turned her body so that it was facing his as she slid her arms around his neck before boldly climbing into his lap, her hands sliding into his hair that only minutes ago she had been dying to touch, to feel sliding between her fingers.

When breathing became necessary, she pulled back, lips swollen and plump from their actions.

And, because Julie had to make everything awkward and ruin every moment, she spoke the words, "So, what does this make us?"

Tim licked his lips. "Friends," he said questioningly.

Julie made a face that told him that was the wrong answer, so he continued.

"Or more than friends, I don't really care to be honest, as long as I get to keep kissing you," he said with a smirk.

She grinned at this. "I have another command for you," she said in a princess voice as her hands ran across his shoulders and down to settle on his arms.

Tim nodded, waiting for it.

"Carry me to bed."

His eyebrows shot up in surprise, eliciting a chuckle from Julie. Then she realized that her bold statement could definitely be taken more than one way, especially to someone like Tim.

"I mean, I'm just really tired and this floor is like, really hard," she said with a twinkle in her eyes, an innocent grin on her face.

"Are you sure you're not trying to seduce me, Taylor?" Tim asked in a joking voice, his hands sliding from where they had settled around her waist to come to a stop on her hips.

She shook her head back and forth slowly. "What kind of girl do you think I am?" she asked.

"Well, based on those jeans you're wearing, I'm not really sure," he joked, hooking his index fingers through a belt loop.

"You like these jeans?" she asked flirtatiously, wiggling her bottom in his lap in a way which Tim knew could be very bad if she didn't stop.

He nodded. "Very much," he said huskily, causing Julie to start kissing him again, all thoughts of sleep gone from her mind for the moment.

"Right, sleep," she said drowsily when she pulled away, his taste still strong on her tongue.

"But it's not even midnight," Tim said. She could tell he was perfectly content to sit in the floor and make out with her for the rest of the night.

"Who cares, it's 2010 somewhere," she said with an eye roll.

Finally, after more kissing and giggles, Tim stood before bending down and scooping Julie up in his arms. After he dropped her softly on the bed, she waited for him to toss her a t-shirt and an old pair of shorts before he disappeared into the bathroom to change.

When he reemerged, Julie grinned at the sight of him wearing only a pair of shorts. She watched him carefully as he climbed into bed, pulling her into his arms as he did.

"Taylor, why aren't you wearing my shorts?" he asked when his hand casually came to a rest on her thigh.

Julie smirked, something he couldn't see in the dark. "I, uh," she struggled to come up with something that wouldn't sound silly.

Really, she never slept in shorts and she didn't want to get hot. Also, she might have wanted to see his reaction.

"Why are you not wearing a shirt?" she finally asked. Take that, Riggins!

Tim sighed loudly. "Fine," he finally bit out.

He could do this; he could totally sleep in the bed next to Julie knowing full and well she was only wearing a shirt and panties and hopefully a bra. He had the will power.

Closing his eyes and willing himself to go to sleep, he felt a gentle peck on his neck before Julie settled her head on the same pillow as his and whispered a gentle, "good night, Tim."

"Night, Julie," he whispered back as he drew relaxing circles on the small of her back, waiting for her breathing to even out and announce that she was in dreamland.

* * *

_Author's Note: So, I didn't do a note at the beginning of the chapter because I knew I would give things away and I wanted to keep you ladies on your toes. The general consensus was pretty much for Tim and Julie to finally exit the friend zone. I hope this was a good way for them to do it! _

_Also, like the story in general, I want this little relationship that they're diving into now to go slow (something new for Tim, I suppose) which is why I didn't want to automatically have them jump into bed together. _

_I know this was a long one, so hopefully it wasn't too much crammed into one chapter, but I wanted to give you all a reward for all of the sweet reviews, messages, and favoriting (is that a word?). So, thank you and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on this one!!!_


	17. Chapter 17

_Author's Note: WOW! Thanks for all of the great feedback on the last chapter...it was so wonderful to hear how you ladies enjoyed Julie and Tim's exit from the friend zone. _

_Sorry to make all of you wait a little longer than normal for an update. Hopefully the chapter will make it worth it :) Enjoy!  
_

* * *

When the light streaming in the through the window became completely unbearable, Julie slowly opened her eyes, giving up on attempting to catch a few more precious moments of sleep.

At first, disorientation set in. She wasn't in her room at home and wait, whose arm was that wrapped around her waist? But then, she looked to her left and there he was and the sweet memory of the night before returned to her.

Apparently, the sunlight didn't interfere with his ability to sleep as it did hers. She smirked as she looked at the strands hair that had fallen across his face, his features were relaxed and, well, pretty much perfect.

Reaching over, she gently brushed the hair that had settled on his cheek away, allowing her hand to linger on his jaw for a few brief seconds, enjoying the feel of the stubble that had accumulated overnight as he unconsciously leaned his face into her palm.

And then, she wasn't sure what to do.

With Matt, the only time they had woken in each others arms was the morning after their first time together, when he woke up in a nervous frenzy and all but picked her up and threw her into his car to get her home before her parents sent out a search party. There had been no morning kisses or cuddles or even a moment to reflect on the monumental occasion that had happened the night before. Instead, it had been rushed and awkward.

And really, she wasn't sure what to expect when Tim woke up. After all, it wasn't like they had _slept_ slept together the night before, so there wasn't that to deal with.

But at the same time, she still wondered what he would say, how he would act. Would he brush her off, tell her that their kiss was a mistake and that it was the alcohol acting or would it happen again? Would he be expecting more? His reputation said that he would, but if Julie had learned anything in the time they had spent together, Tim was a completely different person than he had been a year ago.

"Mornin'," Tim said and Julie was pretty sure she had never heard a voice sound that sexy.

Thick with sleep and dusted with a bit of huskiness, she couldn't tell if he was really awake or talking in his sleep due to the fact that his eyes were still closed as he spoke. But then, they slowly slid open and met hers.

She grinned. "Hey."

"Hi," Tim said, greeting her for the second time in a matter of seconds.

They were silent, studying each others faces patiently, both seemingly analyzing the situation. Tim was the first to speak.

"How long are you stayin' at Tyra's?" he asked, his arm tightening around her waist as he pulled her closer into his side.

"I'm not going to Tyra's," Julie said, confused as to where he got that idea as she buried her head into the crook of his neck.

Tim chuckled, the vibrations sending that transferred to Julie sending tingles through her. "Isn't that where you're technically supposed to be right now?"

"Oh, right. Yeah," Julie said with a grin, remembering that she had told her parents that the night before so that she wouldn't have to worry about drinking and driving.

"No set time really," she added, watching as a grin spread across Tim's face as she propped herself up on her elbow to face him.

"Good," he finally drawled before catching Julie by surprise as he sat up and closed the space between them with a kiss, killing any lingering suspicions in Julie's mind over whether or not the prior night had been a one-time thing.

It definitely had not.

--

As Tim pulled Julie closer to him, their bodies parallel and their lips connected, the first thought flashing through his mind was how different this felt than it had a little over a month ago with Lyla.

With Julie, it felt right and comfortable and other things he couldn't explain and didn't want to try to right now. He was fairly certain, however, that if all they did was stay in the exact spot they were in for the rest of the day, sharing stories and kisses, he would be okay with that. More than okay, in fact. He would be ecstatic.

Then, his hand traveled from the small of her back, down her side, and settled onto her thigh and he remembered that she had refused to wear shorts the night before and how much easier it had been to roll over and go to sleep with that temptation inches away from him as opposed to being rested and fully awake with it right there.

"Taylor," he said as her lips began to travel away from his and down his jaw line.

She didn't answer so he continued. "Can you, uh, put some shorts on?"

He was pretty sure it was the first time those words had ever come out of his mouth to a girl.

She pulled back, a humorous look on her face. Blinking a few times she said, "Are you serious?"

One body part was telling him that he should say tell her no, it was just a joke just to get see what her reaction would be, but then his brain reminded him that she was Julie Taylor and he _needed_ to say yes.

"Uh huh," he squeaked out. It was official; he was a girl.

Julie laughed at this, completely ignoring it and returning her attention to his skin, now focusing on the soft spot behind his ear that made his whole body feel like jello.

Well, damn.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he spoke again. "Really, Taylor. Shorts," Tim forced out.

Again with the laughing from Julie. If she was attempting to make it hard for him to do the right thing, she was succeeding.

Frustrated and trying to not let the things she was doing to his neck with her lips and tongue affect him while her hands inched further and further down the hard lines of his chest and stomach, Tim rolled onto his back.

Julie, obviously trying to torture him so more, pulled herself on top of him and picked up where she left off.

"No," he bit out, reaching down to grab her hands and pull them away from where they were heading. "Not now," he added.

Julie looked up at him, a look on her face he didn't recognize. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Tim grinned weakly. "I don't want to rush this," he said, the tone of his voice indicating that this was referring to them, to their situation.

Julie nodded, rolling off of him with a huff and settling on her back.

Great. He had pissed her off. Good job, Riggins.

"Taylor," he pleaded, sitting up and turning himself to face her. "It's not that I don't want to go further because, well, I do, but don't you think it would be kind of sudden? One day we're just friends, the next we sleep together?"

Slowly the disappointed look on her face brightened and then she smiled. "I guess I just, you know you're Tim Riggins and everything," she said.

"I am," he said with a smirk. "But I'm not _that_ Tim Riggins anymore."

Nodding her head, Julie spoke. "You're right. Sometimes I forget. Especially when you're lying there with your shirt off," she smirked, reaching across to playfully swat his chest.

Tim felt himself blush, another thing he wasn't used to.

"How about some breakfast?" he asked, attempting to break the tension and find a way to get out of bed before the old Tim Riggins reappeared.

Julie laughed. "Breakfast sounds great," she said, climbing out of bed and crossing to the shorts Tim had offered her the night before.

He grinned at the sight of her in his clothes, too big and hiding her curves, but still such a welcome sight that he couldn't help but admire.

She tossed him a shirt. Apparently he wasn't the only one that couldn't handle all the skin. Grinning, he pulled it over his head before dropping his feet to the floor and walking over to where she stood.

Throwing his arm across her shoulder, he guided her out of the bedroom. "I hope you like waffles, because they're the only breakfast food I've got," he drawled as they entered the kitchen.

He watched a grin flicker onto her lips. "No worries."

And really, she didn't have a single one.


	18. Chapter 18

_Author's Note: I am so, so, so terribly sorry that this took so long! Life has been getting in the way. As always, thank you for your sweet reviews and comments on the last chapter...sorry it was a bit shorter than usual. I hope you ladies all enjoy this one as well and I can't wait to hear what you think! Also, I'm in a bit of a fluffy mood, so any requests for the next couple of chapters is welcome :)  
_

* * *

Standing in the shower later that afternoon, Julie allowed her thoughts to wander as the bathroom became clouded with steam from the hot water flowing over her body. Of course, as was the norm recently, her thoughts immediately went to Tim and this thing they had going on between them.

She had narrowly escaped having to watch the Oklahoma versus Florida game with her father as soon as she walked through the front door of her house, claiming that she hadn't showered since the day before (true) and that she needed to get cleaned up.

The truth was, though, she had not wanted to take off Tim's old Panther shirt before leaving his apartment because it smelled distinctly like him and was hiding it under her jacket. She just knew that if she wasn't careful, she would get overheated in the living room, take off her jacket, and her careful maneuvering from the night before would be revealed.

Thank God it hadn't. Though she hadn't admitted it to Tim, the entire evening she was worried that there would be a knock at the door or a ringing of her cell phone, announcing that her plan had been foiled, that her parents had run into Tyra or one of the Collette's somewhere and she had been given up.

But luckily, they hadn't and her plan had worked…like a charm, in fact.

She would be lying to herself if she didn't admit that she had chosen her tightest pair of jeans to wear that evening, or that she had added just a bit more curl to her hair and added an extra dab of perfume on her neck in anticipation of what might happen.

It wasn't that she had been trying to seduce Tim per se, but she wanted to see if the feelings she had been harboring since at least Thanksgiving, and probably before, were mutual.

And if his kisses the prior evening were any indication, they were.

Her suspicions that Tim would be an excellent kisser were confirmed and only heightened the attraction she held towards him. She was afraid to categorize his lips and the sweet kisses they planted on hers as perfect, because that seemed a bit extreme and ridiculous, but it had been pretty damn good.

Then, when he had pulled away the next morning, insisting on taking it slow and not rushing things, she had been floored.

Tim had to know she wasn't still a virgin. In fact, she was almost certain that she had been locker room fodder when she and Matt had finally slept together, but the fact that he didn't assume that just because she had done that with Matt that she was immediately going to do it with him made her heart flutter even more.

Stepping out of the shower and drying herself off, she quickly ran the blow dryer over her hair just enough to get it almost dry before pulling it on top of her head. It wasn't like she was going to see anyone but her family today, so why bother getting all done up?

She then bounced down the hall to her bedroom, still a little bit on cloud nine from the night before, and threw on her most comfortable pair of black yoga pants and her favorite hoodie. Make-up, just like fixing her hair, she decided, wasn't necessary today.

With a too-big smile on her face, she practically skipped into the living room to find her father in the exact same position he had been in an hour ago. In his chair, a beer in one hand a bowl of snacks in his lap. Apparently, the Oklahoma/Florida game was over and he was now focusing on USC versus Penn State.

She was snuggled against the back of the sofa, grateful to have it to herself for once instead of having to share it with her mother or Gracie Belle, when Eric's cell phone rang and she heard him answer it with uncharacteristic cheerfulness.

After a brief discussion, whoever it was on the other end was apparently coming over to catch a couple of the bowl games being offered that day, he disconnected the call and returned his attention to the television.

"Who was that?" Julie asked casually, figuring it was Buddy Garrity or one of his assistant coaches.

Eric didn't answer.

"Dad?" Julie asked, this time snapping her fingers to snap him out of his football-induced trance.

He finally looked away. "Huh?" he asked, clearly frustrated by being distracted from the game.

"Who's coming over?" she asked with annoyance.

"Riggins," he answered casually before turning his eyes back to the game and ending any possibility of continuing the conversation.

"Right now?" Julie prodded.

Eric grunted. "Yes. Right now," he said.

Julie was immediately flustered. She didn't want Tim to see her in her sweats, hair piled on top of her head, and a roomy sweatshirt covering what she considered some of her best assets, but she knew if she jumped up and ran to her room to change, Eric would be suspicious.

She was still stunned over the fact that Tim was coming to watch football with her dad on New Year's Day and attempting to figure out a way to get more dressed up without it being blatantly obvious why she was when there was a knock at the door.

Julie sat frozen on the sofa while her father did the same in his chair. After a few seconds and another knock, he turned to her. "Go let Riggins in," he said, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

"You're the one who invited him over," she retorted like she was engaging in an argument with a child.

"Just do it, Jules."

"Fine," she said, standing with a loud sigh and trudging to the front door.

Swinging it open, she attempting to keep the huge grin off her face when she saw Tim, all thoughts of how awful she must look fleeing her mind as they were replaced with thoughts of how good he looked in his most faded, most touchable looking plaid shirt and hip-hugging jeans.

"Hi," she said breathlessly.

"Taylor," he drawled. His eyes, she felt, were intently focused on her legs and the shape of them that her yoga pants highlighted.

Unintentionally, she licked her lips and moved out of the way for him to enter, though he caught her off guard by wrapping his arms around her waist and lifting her off the ground in a strong hug. "Hey," he said into her hair.

She grinned at his greeting. "I like those pants," he added, his voice huskier than it had been mere seconds before.

Julie rolled her eyes. Of course he would; they were tighter than the jeans she had worn the night before.

When he sat her down, she playfully slapped him on the chest. "Stop it, my dad is like ten feet away and just around the corner," she hissed playfully.

"I don't care," he said, leaning down and briefly brushing his lips across hers.

"Riggins? That you?" Eric called from the living room.

Julie gave Tim a glare that said, 'I told you so.'

Rolling his eyes in admittance of the fact that her father was indeed nearby and that he needed to behave himself, he followed her into the living room.

"Coach," Tim said as he shook Eric's hand in greeting before plopping down in the exact spot Julie had occupied moments earlier.

"I was sitting there," she said smartly, hand on her hip.

Tim smirked but didn't say anything, merely patting his thighs in a silent, playful invitation for her to join him on his lap. She glared at him, eyes wide, before switching her gaze to her father and taking a seat at the other end of the sofa, as far away from Tim as possible.

Eventually, she grew tired of sitting up straight and laid down across the couch, extending her legs out in front of her but keeping her knees bent so that her feet wouldn't lay awkwardly across Tim's lap.

At some point in the day, however, she drifted off to sleep and her knees unconsciously straightened, resulting in exactly what she had been trying to avoid.

Tim, however, didn't seem to mind. He allowed her feet to settle across his lap, occasionally rubbing her ankle or her shin, even though he knew she wouldn't feel it in her slumber. Luckily for both of them, Eric was too engrossed in the game to notice.

When Eric left the room for more nachos, however, Tim couldn't resist the urge to wake her up. "Taylor," he whispered, shaking her ankle to get her attention.

She groggily, slowly opened her eyes, turning to see what had interrupted her little cat nap. "Hey," Tim said too cheerily to her taste.

She gave him an irritated look. "Hm?" she asked.

"Coach is in the kitchen," he said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

Julie rolled her eyes as she sat up on her elbows. "Yeah, for five whole minutes."

Tim pulled her closer to him by her ankles. "So?" he asked when they were face to face.

She licked her lips in anticipation. "So, no," she said weakly.

"You sure," he asked in that voice of his that she was quickly learning was very, very hard to resist.

She nodded numbly. "Uh huh," she said as she felt her lips move closer to him, her actions contradicting her words.

"Tim, you want some water or somethin'?" Eric asked from the kitchen, interrupting their hidden moment.

Julie fell back onto the couch.

"Yeah, Coach. That'd be good," Tim managed to say without laughing.

He attempted to pull her up again, but when Eric reappeared in the room, he gave up the fight.

Julie watched as he opened the bottle of water and brought it to his lips, finding herself entranced by his movements. What was it about his lips, his hands that had her so easily made into a big pile of mush?

Then, as he had suddenly developed a talent for doing, Tim turned to her with a shit-eating grin. Of course he had felt her staring at him, knew that she was a goner where his lips were concerned.

Rolling her eyes and fighting the blush that crept up her neck and onto her face, she quickly averted her gaze to the television. Her feet, however, she didn't remove from his lap.

As she watched the players on the screen throw passes and blocks, she suddenly realized that it was going to be a long evening if she had to make it through without jumping Tim in front of her father, and eventually mother and little sister.

It didn't help that the shirt he was wearing looked like it had those buttons that just popped undone instead of having to painstakingly undo every one. She was certain he had done it on purpose.

Tim Riggins, she knew, was torturing her just as she had done to him the night prior in her tight little jeans with her hair all curled. Damn him.


	19. Chapter 19

On the football field, Eric Taylor was a genius, catching on almost immediately to offensive and defensive schemes and changing his team's game plan to achieve success against their opponents. He took green players and molded them into success stories, both on and off the field and was regularly involved with championship teams at both the district and state levels.

Off the field, however, it sometimes took him a little longer to catch on as to what was happening around him—especially when there was something he loved, like football, on TV to distract him.

After an entire day of watching the game he loved with his daughter and former fullback, he was left with no clues that they had a budding relationship and that it was developing right before his eyes. The stolen glances and bits of touching were completely lost on him. In fact, it took the wise voice of his wife to bring him to up to par.

"You do realize what's going on in there, don't you?" Tami asked Eric.

They were standing in the kitchen getting together some dinner while there was a break in between football games. Tami had learned the hard way early in their marriage that it was a bad idea to interfere with New Year's Day bowl games, even if it did involve food.

Eric gave her a blank stare. "Yes I do. We're watching football," he answered like it was the clearly correct answer.

Tami chuckled. "I meant between Julie and Tim, babe."

"What about 'em?"

"You mean you don't see it?" Tami asked.

He shook his head.

"Take a look closer, hon. I don't know if they're the same innocent friends they were when he was here over Thanksgiving," she explained.

Eric did as he was told, shifting his attention from the kitchen to the living room via the view over the breakfast bar. His mouth fell open at what he saw: Julie and Tim, now sitting straight up and only inches apart, giggling and whispering about something unknown to him.

He turned to see Tami's reaction, only to find her standing with a smug grin on her face. "See," she said, pointing the large spoon she was using the stir the spaghetti noodles she was cooking in their direction.

How did she manage to discover something that had been right under his nose all afternoon in a manner of minutes?

Eric grunted. "I don't like it," he said immediately.

Tami rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. You know Tim isn't the same boy he was a year ago. Hell, he isn't the same boy he was a month ago," she said, surprised at the defensive tone in her own voice.

"Doesn't mean he's okay for our daughter," he said to Tami before turning to get Julie's attention. "Jules! Come here for a sec," he hollered into the living room.

Eric watched as Julie looked in his direction with wide eyes while Tim attempted to hide the smirk forming on his face. She quickly jumped up and headed in the direction of the kitchen.

In the background he could hear Tami fussing at him for making such an unnecessary big deal out of what was going on.

"What's up?" she asked casually once she was standing in front of him, her hands stuffed nervously in her pockets.

"What's going on in there?" he asked.

Julie opened her mouth to speak but couldn't find words, only shutting it again until she came up with something. "We're just, uh, waiting for dinner, watching some TV," she finally said.

Eric nodded slowly. "That all?"

He watched as she bit her lip, a sudden awareness that she and Tim had been discovered appearing on her face.

"Do I need to have a talk with him?" Eric asked.

Even though he hated to admit it, his wife was right. Tim was a completely different person that he had been just months ago. And, he knew his daughter well enough to know that even though she liked to sometimes act out and make life a little more stressful than was often necessary, she had a solid head on her shoulders. No boy, Tim Riggins or any other, was likely to change that.

She shook her head back and forth furiously. "Dad, no," she quickly said.

"He's behavin' himself? Being respectful?" he asked just to make sure.

After all, he had a role to play and he wanted to make sure he had all of his bases covered.

"Yes," Julie said with a bit of bite, her face instantly turning red.

Eric nodded curtly. "Alright. If he quits behavin' himself, you let me know," he added before she turned to escape his questioning.

Julie rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Dad," she said before turning and marching back into the living room, her face still red with embarrassment.

--

"Everything okay?" Tim asked as Julie rejoined him in the living room.

He couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his plump lips at the sight of her flushed.

She shrugged. "They figured us out," she explained as she settled next to him on the sofa.

Tim chuckled. "Good," he said.

"Why good?" Julie asked with an arched eyebrow.

Tim grinned mischievously. "Now I don't have to keep my hands completely to myself," he said, his eyes darkening as he spoke.

"Tim," she squealed scandalously, swatting him in the chest as she did. "You better keep you hands to yourself with my dad around," she added.

He nodded, licking his lips slowly. "I can't make any promises, Taylor."

Julie grinned. She couldn't believe, even after the events of the night before, that Tim Riggins wanted anything to do with his hands connecting with her body. Not that she was complaining.

"You should probably try," she said weakly.

Tim nodded. "I _will_ try," he confirmed.

"You better," she said with a small nod, trying to act serious though she couldn't hide the grin erupting on her face.

Tim grinned as he reached across the sofa and circled his arms around her waist before pulling her into his lap.

"You know what I hate?" he asked after a few seconds of silence, giving them both time to enjoy the feel of the others arms around them.

"What?" Julie asked into his neck.

"School."

Julie pulled back, confused. "You're done with school."

"But you aren't," he stated.

"And?"

"And I barely got to see you over break because you had to go visit the extended Taylor family and now you're going to be in class all day," he explained.

"Well," Julie said thoughtfully, her hand coming up to rest on his shoulder, "I think I can figure out a way to get around that."

Tim arched a speculative eyebrow. "How's that?"

"Lunch," she answered succinctly.

When Tim didn't say anything she continued. "Seniors don't have to eat in the cafeteria, remember?"

Tim shrugged. Most of his senior year, he had either skipped for lunch or spent it at a table with his teammates in the cafeteria, so he wasn't exactly up to date with all of the rules.

"Sounds kind of familiar," he said, though he really had no clue.

"I'm thinking you, me, and the stadium," she said with a sneaky grin as she trailed the index finger of her right hand across his collarbone.

Tim nodded. "One condition," he somehow managed to say despite the fact that her finger was distracting him very much.

Really, how could her finger alone cause him to lose all concentration?

"Shoot," Julie said, urging him to elaborate.

Tim paused, licking his lips as he forced her to wait. "You have to be my gal," he said after what seemed like a full hour of waiting to Julie, his voice almost a whisper.

Instantly, a grin spread across her face. "I think that can be arranged," she said in a joking tone, her hands flying up to tangle in his hair.

"You think so?" Tim asked, matching her tone of voice.

She nodded, of course biting her lip.

Though he knew he shouldn't, especially with her parents in such close proximity, he leaned forward to seal their conversation with a kiss.

Of course, he knew it wouldn't last long because fate was never on his side and Eric Taylor had an uncanny ability for turning his head when it mattered the most.

"Dinner!" he announced a little too loudly from the kitchen.

Tim groaned as Julie slowly pulled away from him and stood from the couch, suddenly realizing that it would be much harder to score alone time with Julie now that their secret was out and he was no longer the friend, but the boyfriend.

It was time, he concluded as he followed Julie to the dining room table, to start planning a real date with for his girl to enjoy…preferably away from anyone that could provide an inconvenient interruption.

* * *

_Author's Note: I know, this one was a bit shorter than normal...but hopefully you all enjoyed it regardless! Thoughts, please!!_


	20. Chapter 20

_Author's Note: Please, please, please don't hate me for taking so long to update! My classes started back last week, so things have been a bit more hectic than they had been during the summer. So, unfortunately, updates will probably be a lot slower from here on out (my professors are biiiiig fans of lots of reading). Also, I know this chapter is a short one, but it's kind of a filler. I hope y'all enjoy it! Don't forget to let me know what you think :)  
_

* * *

Looking up, Tim grinned at the sight of his girl practically running across the empty field to join him in the stadium. It felt strange being in the stands instead of on the field, but in a good way. Probably, he knew, because of the mass of blonde hair bouncing in his direction. There wasn't much, he was quickly realizing, that he wouldn't do for her.

It was one of those rare, freezing cold January days in Texas where jackets were necessary, along with scarves and gloves and hats. Usually Tim hated all of those things, especially when they covered up precious inches of female bodies, but on Julie he didn't mind. To him, she looked adorable.

It was Tuesday, only the second day of the spring semester, and he had received a text message from her earlier in the day begging him to come meet her for lunch. Well, maybe not begging, but she did suggest that it would benefit him greatly to come.

So, he told Billy he had something important to tend to and quickly put his plan together. Nothing fancy, but lunch from Julie's favorite deli in Dillon and a blanket they could spread over the cold bleachers while they enjoyed the hour of one another's company.

"Thank you so much for coming," Julie said breathlessly into his chest as she launched herself into his arms.

He chuckled. "Wouldn't have missed it, Taylor," he said.

"I brought lunch," he added before stealing a quick, heating kiss from her lips.

It had only been two days since he had seen her, but it seemed like an eternity.

Julie peeked around him to see what it was before holding up a brown paper bag of her own. "So did I," she said, sounding disappointed.

Tim narrowed his eyes before reaching across to take the bag out of her hands. Pulling it open, he lifted out a smashed sandwich and an apple. Shaking his head, he said, "This won't do," and tossed it across the stands.

"Tim," Julie squealed, "that was my lunch!"

"No,_ this_ is your lunch," he gestured to the bag he had brought with him.

He watched as a grin spread across her face and was glad he was the one who had put it there.

"Thanks," she said before sitting down on the bleachers and patting the open space next to her, gesturing for him to join her.

Once he was seated, they carried on the typical small talk that people engage in over meals. Julie caught him up with all of the juicy Dillon gossip—something about a rally girl and JD McCoy, to which Tim rolled his eyes and muttered something about hating the McCoy's—and Tim told her about the crazy old woman who had insisted that they fix her lawn mower at the garage.

Tim, though, was having a hard time figuring out why it was, exactly, that Julie had been so urgent about him joining her for lunch. Even though she had pleaded for him over text message, he could somehow sense the desperation. That, and the way she sprinted across the field quickly to meet him.

Surely it hadn't been just so she would have someone to gossip with.

"So, uh, everything else going okay?" he finally found the courage to ask.

She shot him a small grin before speaking. "Yeah, I've been, uh, working on college applications all morning," she said.

Tim attempted to smile at her statement, but was pretty sure all he did was frown. It was the first time he had allowed himself to think about the fact that one day, a day that was coming more and more quickly, Julie would leave him and Dillon for bigger and better things.

"Is that right?" he finally said, attempting to sound happy for her and failing miserably.

"Yep," she said, making the word pop in her mouth.

"Where are you, um, applying?" Tim asked, wanting it to be somewhere near for selfish reasons, but knowing she deserved more than that.

She shrugged, paused to take a bite of her sandwich, then answered, "Right now, just UT-Austin and A&M, maybe Texas Tech."

Well, at least they're in Texas, Tim thought. "That where you wanna go?"

"I think so," Julie said confidently with a nod and a grin.

"You sure?" he inquired. "Because I'm pretty sure you've got the grades to get in anywhere you want."

Julie blushed as she nodded. "I know," she agreed as she sat the uneaten half of her sandwich aside and scooted closer to Tim on the bench. "But I don't want to be too far away from my family and, well, _you_," she said the last word tentatively, her voice full of worry.

Tim's eyebrows rose. "Me?"

She nodded, taking her lower lip in between her teeth. By now, she knew he was powerless to that move.

"You," she whispered, leaning closer before slanting her head and touching her lips to his.

"Why me?" he asked after pulling away, anxious to see what her answer would be.

Julie looked up at him with hooded eyes. "Maybe I kind of like you," she said with a sly wink.

Tim grinned. "I kind of like you too, Taylor," he said, all thought of colleges and applications fleeing his mind as he leaned in again to capture her lips.

The next half hour was spent sharing kisses and sweet, tender words in the stadium that held so many memories for both of them.

Tim was pretty sure, though, that none of them compared to the rush of emotion he felt when Julie's lips were against his own, or against his neck, or biting at his earlobe. And they certainly didn't compare to the feel of her petite body against his when she climbed onto his lap in an attempt to be as close as possible in a very public place.

After what seemed like mere seconds, Tim heard a bell ringing in the distance announcing that the lunch period was over. He pulled away reluctantly.

"You should go," he drawled against her lips.

Julie ignored him, shaking her head back and forth and bringing her lips to his again. "Five more minutes," she pleaded.

Tim shook his head. "You'll be late," he said, though he obliged her and kissed her again.

"I don't care," she said breathlessly against his lips.

Finally, he had to pick her up and move him off his lap. He knew that if he didn't, she wouldn't be back inside the school building until a PE class came out to the field and caught them.

He watched as she stood reluctantly, brushing out the wrinkles in her clothing and straightening her hair, her make-up, so that no one would suspect what she had been doing during her lunch hour.

When she turned to head back inside, he stood and walked beside her after gathering their trash from lunch, his hand protectively against the small of her back as they walked.

"Oh, and one more thing," Julie said, turning to face him when they reached the edge of the field.

Tim nodded for her to continue.

"My dad thinks you can still do it," she said with a sweet grin before reaching up and pecking him on the lips one more time and skipping towards the school.

Tim had no clue what she meant. Finally, he got his bearings and yelled at her retreating figure, "Do what?"

"Play college ball," she called over her shoulder with a sneaky grin before disappearing into the building.

After she was gone, Tim wasn't sure how long he stood rooted where she left him. Probably, he realized later, it had been at least ten minutes.

Really, though, all he could focus on was the fact that Coach still believed in him, still thought he had a chance do something no Riggins before him had done.

After convincing himself that Julie was out of her mind, and so was Coach, he shook his head a couple of times to clear his thoughts before stumbling towards his truck and turnings towards the garage.

The entire way there, however, all he could think about was how good it would feel to lace up a pair of cleats and put on all of the necessary equipment and run out onto a football field again.

Maybe, just maybe, he would give it a chance.

After all, it seemed as if Julie had only applied to schools with established football programs. Maybe, if he had someone with him to keep him there, keep him grounded, he could handle it.

Yeah, maybe he could.


	21. Chapter 21

It was a funny, familiar feeling, standing outside the field house and waiting for her boyfriend to emerge from the field after a long, hard practice under the instruction of her father.

Except this time, her boyfriend wasn't Matt, her boyfriend was Tim and instead of waiting on a Panther, she was waiting on a boy who was getting a second shot at what every boy in Texas dreamed of—playing football beyond the lights of Friday night.

Grinning to herself, she watched the pair conclude their practice, Tim hiding his exhaustion as Eric patted him across the back and shared with him what Julie hoped were encouraging words. As she watched them stride towards her, she found herself sending up silent prayers that this would be a success.

It had to be…otherwise, she would find herself once again saying goodbye to a boy she cared deeply for as the summer days dwindled away and she wasn't sure if she could handle it again.

The idea for Tim to attempt college and football again had come to her during their chat on New Year's Day after Tim complained about school taking her away from him. Though she was sure the idea of her leaving for college in the fall wasn't what he was referring to, it was immediately where her mind had traveled.

The solution, she realized, was to take him with her. Probably, the reason he had failed in San Antonio was that he had no one there to cheer him on, encourage him to go to class and achieve his dreams. She could be that support system for him, she realized.

Julie had witnessed her father do this before—take a player and mold him into the success story he knew they would be. He had done it with Jason Street in high school and then with Smash before sending him off to Texas A&M.

She wasn't surprised when Eric had eagerly agreed to help Tim out. Though he had pretended to be supportive of Tim's return to Dillon in the fall, she knew that he had had high hopes for his former fullback. As a coach, he wanted to see him succeed.

For Eric, his motivations were the same as they had been with Jason and Smash. For Julie, however, it was different. She had an invested interested—her heart.

She wanted Tim's success for herself just as much as she wanted it for him. That, and she knew that this huge undertaking would be impossible if Tim wasn't behind it as well.

Because, really, as much as she wanted him with her at whatever college she chose, she didn't want him to do anything he didn't want.

"You waitin' on me, Taylor?" Tim drawled, breaking her away from her thoughts, as he approached after separating with Eric at the gate to the field.

Julie looked up at him and shrugged, a small grin spreading across her face. "Nah, I just like to hang out at the field house," she teased.

Shaking his head back and forth, Tim spread his stance and pulled her to him, his hands on her hips. "Is that so?"

She nodded, her lower lip becoming trapped beneath her teeth.

Damn, if he didn't look good in his athletic gear. Not that she didn't appreciate his everyday low slung jeans and soft, worn out plaid shirts, but she was quickly realizing a fondness for the football pants he wore to practice with her father. And the old t-shirts with the cut-off sleeves.

"Only because you're here," she finally said.

It was corny, she knew, but it was the truth.

Tim narrowed her eyes as if questioning her statement before surprising her with a peck on the lips.

"Thank you," he said after pulling away.

"For what?"

"This," he said, glancing around to signify that he was referring to football.

Julie grinned. "So today went okay?" she asked, hope oozing through her words.

The smile that lit up Tim's features, stretching all the way to his eyes, told her that it had.

Initially, she had worried that this was too much—hoping that Tim would want to play football again and return to college. But now, she realized, not only did he want this, he _needed_ it.

"Being on the field again, even though I wasn't with a team and I might never play with a team again, it felt good," he said.

"Good," Julie said, matching his smile with one of her own.

Tim nodded his head, his lips forming a quick pout before he spoke again. "Your dad still knows how to kick my ass, though," he added.

Julie giggled. "Do I need to talk to him?" she joked, gently poking him in the chest with her index finger.

"Nah," Tim said with a smirk, "I'm pretty sure some of it was a hint of a future threat if I were to, you know, hurt you."

"Ah," Julie said nodding slowly. "Guess you better not hurt me then."

"I guess I better not," he agreed, his gaze traveling to her lips.

Watching his eyes travel to her mouth, Julie made a point of licking her lips before speaking again.

"What are you doing tonight?" Tim asked when his eyes returned to meet hers.

She shrugged. "Well, its Tuesday, meaning Taylor Tuesday."

Tim quirked an eyebrow towards her.

"We order pizza and my mom insists we play Scrabble or Monopoly or something else that she can beat my dad in," she explained.

"Ah," Tim nodded, understanding filling his features. "I bet that doesn't go over well."

"He does hate to lose," Julie admitted. "What are your plans for the evening?"

"Well," Tim began, "I was hopin' to spend some time with my girlfriend, but seein' as how its family night, I guess I'll have to hang out with Billy or somethin'."

Julie scrunched up her face. "You can come, if you want," she said reluctantly.

Her parents didn't take to interrupting of Taylor Tuesday's very well, but surely they would make an exception.

Tim shook his head firmly. "I don't want to endure the effects of interrupting Taylor Tuesday tomorrow when I workout with Coach," he said with a small smile.

"Are you sure?"

Tim nodded. "I'm sure. But Friday night, you're mine," he said.

Julie raised her eyebrows. "I am?" she asked.

"You are," Tim said, silencing any further protests on her part by attaching his lips to hers.

"Jules!" Eric called, loudly swinging open the field house door and interrupting their moment.

Julie and Tim both groaned in frustration. "You ready?" he added, a proud grin at having interrupted their kiss on his face.

"Go," Tim said, squeezing her hips lightly and pushing her forward.

Julie sighed. "Fine," she said reluctantly after one last quick kiss. "I'll see you later."

"See ya, Taylor," Tim called to her retreating figure.

--

Taylor Tuesday was in full swing later that evening when Julie breached the subject of Tim and football with her father. Though Tim had told her their workout had gone well, she wanted to hear it from the expert's mouth.

"So, dad, how did today go with Tim?" she asked casually.

Eric grinned. "As strange as it sounds, he was in better condition than he was the last time I coached him. Guess he's taking better care of himself," he explained. "I think I can get him ready to try out as a walk on somewhere in time for summer workouts."

"Really?" Julie asked a little too eagerly.

He nodded, oblivious to her giddiness. "Yeah."

"That's great, hon," Tami added. "How are his grades going to go over at somewhere like UT or A&M, though?"

Julie's hopes fell. Tim hadn't exactly been a star student at Dillon High and from what she knew about walking on to a college football team, regular admittance to the school was required as opposed to highly recruited players that went through slightly different channels.

Eric shrugged. "We'll have to play that by ear. I guess if need be, I can call in a favor."

"But you think he can do it, right?" Julie asked.

"I think if he works hard and keeps behavin' himself, then he's got a shot. I'm not making any promises, though, sweetheart" Eric said. "Now, who's ready to lose at Scrabble?" he asked, rubbing his hands together and changing the topic quickly.

As Tami prepared the game board and divided up lettered tiles, Eric stood and crossed to the kitchen for a beer.

"You okay, hon?" Tami asked.

Julie had been frowning since the mention of Tim's grades. Prior to Tami's question, she hadn't even considered the issue. She just figured football was the key.

Now, she wasn't so sure.

She quickly nodded, attempting to keep the tears threatening to form in her eyes at bay as she avoided her mother's inquisitive gaze.

"No, you're not," Tami argued.

Julie nodded. "It's just, I had this plan and thought everything was going to work out, but then you mentioned Tim's grades and now I just don't think it's going to work out," she said, her gaze focused on her lap.

"Hon," Tami said, reaching across to place her index finger under Julie's chin and lift her gaze. "Look at me."

Julie obliged.

"Do you remember what I told you when we were at the airport after dropping Matt off?"

Julie nodded weakly. "You told me that if we were meant to be, it would work out."

"It's the same with Tim, hon, you just need to have a little faith," Tami said with a smile, reaching across the table to wrap her daughter in her arms.

"I know," Julie murmured into Tami's shoulder.

Pulling away, she grinned weakly and wiped away a stray tear as Eric reentered the room.

"Ready?" he asked, oblivious to the scene before him.

Both Taylor ladies nodded, sitting up straighter in their seats and preparing for a battle with Eric Taylor.

"Let's play," Julie said, glancing down at the Scrabble letters she had to play with.

Grinning to herself, her spirits were lifted when she realized the letters before her spelled out exactly what she needed at that moment: B-E-L-I-E-V-E.

* * *

_Author's Note: I'm terrible at updating now, I know. Forgive me? _

_Just a little FYI: Walking on to a team means that you are on the team, but you aren't on scholarship, therefore you have to apply to the college and be accepted, then actually try out for the team. So, if Tim were to walk on somewhere, he would have to somehow get in. Have a little faith, though, it'll all work out for Tulie :)_

_Even if you're angry at me for not updating, leave me reviews and I might be persuaded to being quicker next time! _


	22. Chapter 22

Either Tim had developed new muscles in the past year, or he was getting older and out of shape. He preferred the former explanation, but new that the latter was a bit more logical. Either way, all he knew was that every single muscle in his body was aching by Friday evening after a week of practices with his former coach.

Sitting on the sofa with a beer in his hand that evening as he waited for Julie to come over, he began to question whether or not it was worth it to take another chance on the game he had loved since childhood, because when every time you moved you groaned, sometimes it didn't seem like it was.

What if he didn't even make in onto a team? Or if he made it onto a team that he had no desire to play for, that didn't welcome him based on his past? What if he got to his new college and found it as disappointing as San Antonio State had been? Even worse, what if Julie found someone new, someone better, and left him alone like Lyla had?

His thought process was interrupted by a knock at his door. With a sigh, he slowly pulled himself off the couch and walked carefully to the door. Swinging it open, he never bothered to lock it anyway, Julie was revealed on the other side.

And instantly, all thoughts of quitting diminished.

Because right now, right here, all that mattered was the girl standing in front of him that had given him another chance.

"Hey," she said with a sweet smile that made his knees feel weaker than they already were.

He smirked. "Taylor," he drawled as he made room for her to walk past him and into the apartment.

"Whatcha got in there?" he asked, pointing to the brown bag she was setting on the kitchen counter as he hobbled back into the living room. It reminded him of the last time she had brought over entertainment for the evening in the form of champagne.

Julie turned to him and grinned. "Alamo Freeze and a few movies."

"Nice," Tim answered as he heard plates start to bang together in the kitchen.

She had insisted on bringing dinner earlier in the day when she found out that his practice with Eric would last until late in the afternoon.

"How are the practices going?" Julie asked from the other room.

Between her busy school schedule and Tim's double duty of work at the garage and working out with her father, the two had barely had a chance to speak during the week.

The noise Tim made should have been answer enough, but he spoke anyway. "I think Coach is trying to kill me," he said, only half joking.

Julie chuckled as she walked in from the kitchen, a plate of food in each hand. After placing one in front of Tim and the other on the coffee table, she settled on the sofa next to him.

"Is it that bad?" Julie asked with true concern in her tone.

Tim nodded his head up and down but changed direction after a few seconds.

Julie narrowed her eyes at him, confused.

"You know what I was thinkin' before you got here?" Tim asked, his mouth full of an Alamo Burger.

Julie shook her head back and forth as she shoved a French fry in her mouth.

"I was thinkin' about just giving up the whole football thing. I can work at the garage forever, if I wanted to. I was this close," he held up his hand with his thumb and index finger held apart to indicate just how close he was, "but then you knocked on the door."

"And?"

"And," Tim grinned, "its worth it if it means we could maybe be together next year."

A huge grin spread across Julie's face. "Really?" she asked in disbelief.

"Really," he said with a reassuring nod. "Even if every muscle in my body aches for the rest of the year."

Julie laughed. "That's a bit extreme," she admitted.

"You're probably right," Tim agreed with a smirk.

The two grew silent for several minutes as they ate their food.

"You know, I overheard my dad on the phone today with a recruiter from UT-Austin," Julie said after swallowing her last bite and resting her plate on the coffee table.

Tim was sure the surprise and excitement that followed her statement was written all of his face.

"For real?" he asked, his voice sounding like that of a kid fixing to meet his favorite athlete.

Julie nodded, a slow grin spreading across her face.

Tim reacted quickly, closing the space between them and wrapping his arms around her waist, his face buried in her neck. After allowing the hug to linger for several seconds, he pulled back so that he could look her in the eyes.

"Should I get my hopes up? Or could it have been for an East Dillon player?"

"Tim," Julie reminded Tim, "East Dillon isn't exactly West Dillon. No JD McCoy's there yet. Of course it was for you."

"You're sure?"

She nodded. "I may have also asked him about it last night," she said sheepishly.

The grin on Tim's face was now permanent.

Julie continued talking. "He said you shouldn't, you know, put all your eggs in that basket, but that they looked at your tapes from high school and that one game you got in at the end of for San Antonio State before you left and were impressed. If you keep improving with him, he told me that he could definitely get you an interview with sometime in the spring."

She was rambling, Tim realized. In an effort to cut her off and enjoy the moment, he quickly attached his lips to hers, his hands immediately flying to her hair as he shared his happiness with her.

As their lips danced together, another thought struck him. What about Julie? Was going to school in Austin what she wanted?

Tim pulled away reluctantly, though he refused to remove his hands from her silky tresses.

Why did his mind keep going to that place today? The place where all of his happiness was taken away?

"What's wrong?" Julie asked, her lips already plump and red as she gently squeezed his hips to show her annoyance at his pausing their moment.

Tim's eyes were drawn to them, but he forced himself to look away.

"Do you want UT-Austin?" he asked slowly, carefully.

Julie's eyebrows furrowed.

"Of course I do," she said like it was the easiest answer in the world.

"And you're sure?" Tim wasn't ready to accept the answer right away.

Julie nodded, a grin spreading across her face. "Austin is a great city, especially for art and literature, which is what I want."

Tim grinned and leaned back in to capture her lips again.

"And you're sure about this? I mean, you could go anywhere, are you sure UT is what you want?" He asked after pulling away again, this time mid-kiss.

Julie sighed loudly and moved her hands from his hips to cup his face in her hands.

"Yes," she answered simply, her eyes trained on his eyes. "I want a good education, which I can get there. But more importantly, I want to be with you. I don't want to say goodbye to somewhere I care about again."

Suddenly, Tim understood.

She wasn't settling for UT, if by some miracle they both ended up there in the fall. She was choosing it. She was choosing him.

"Now," Julie said, a different tone settling on her voice as she moved her hands from his cheeks to tangle in his hair, "I haven't seen you all week. Are we done talking for now?"

Tim nodded as he slowly licked his lips. "We're done," he squeaked out as her lips were on him again, this time choosing to take up residence on his neck instead of his lips.

He could feel Julie grin against his neck as he relaxed back onto the sofa, his hands settling onto her hips as she took her time marking his neck, his collarbone as hers.

When she pushed him back and straddled his lap, her lips returning to his and their kiss suddenly turning deeper, more intense than before, everything suddenly changed.

--

As Julie settled onto Tim's lap, enjoying the feel of his hard chest against hers as his hands slid up and down her back a few times before sneaking under her shirt, she realized how much he meant to her.

Sure, she couldn't bear the thought of being without him next year, but she had felt the same about Matt, right?

Something was different, though. Tim, she knew, would ultimately have a greater impact on her than Matt ever had. It was too soon to say that this was forever, but it was possible. Matt was her first love, but Tim was her first _real_ love.

Love.

Had she just admitted to herself that she loved Tim Riggins?

Yeah, she thought to herself, I love Tim Riggins.

"What was that?" Tim murmured against her neck that he was now taking careful time to explore after a week of negligence.

Julie looked down in shock. "Huh?"

"You said, 'yeah,'" Tim said with a soft chuckle.

"Oh," Julie let out a sigh of relief, "just that feels good."

Tim didn't answer, merely grinning against her collarbone.

"This shirt needs to go," he said, looking up to meet her eyes, to ask for permission as his hands formed first around the hem of the offending fabric.

Julie nodded silently as she lifted her arms to help him remove the item; still mute over the fact that she almost admitted aloud that she loved Tim.

Suddenly, everything was moving fast. One minute, Tim was pulling her shirt over her head and the next the room was littered with clothes—a shirt here, a pair of pants here—and Julie and Tim were left in only their undergarments.

She was glad he had his own place for this very reason.

The air was different, charged, as if it knew something had changed, as if a barrier had been broken and all the cards were on the table. Julie was certain it was due to the earlier conversation between them, the admittance that they wanted to be together in the future even if the future, right now, simply meant college.

Julie and Tim were in the same position as before; him sitting back on the couch, her straddled across his lap.

Julie broke away from Tim first, suddenly remembering that oxygen was necessary for life as much as she didn't want it to be, and found herself stealing a look into his eyes. What she found was a look she had yet to see from him: pure desire.

"Bedroom," she said quickly, knowing that her eyes were reflecting the same emotion as his.

Tim chuckled. "You sure?" he forced himself to ask, to make sure it wasn't too soon to take this step.

She nodded once before answering him with a deep kiss that distracted them both momentarily. She was as sure of this as she had been about anything else in her life.

The moment was eerily similar to their kiss on New Years, though this time there was less uncertainly. By now, both Tim and Julie knew that this was real, that their feelings were legitimate and honest and it wasn't just the alcohol and anticipation of a New Year speaking.

Without Tim's lips leaving hers, Julie felt him tighten her legs around his waist before standing and walking quickly into the bedroom with her in his arms.

When he laid her on the bed and gingerly stretched out above her, all feelings of soreness from earlier in the day suddenly evaporated, Julie pulled him to her eagerly.

She relaxed as he took his time with her, getting to know every part of her that he had yet to explore. When his lips returned to hers and all barriers between them had been removed, save the protection he had slid on moments earlier, she found herself unable to stop her mouth.

"I love you," she blurted out.

Tim's eyes widened and Julie hoped it wasn't too soon. When his lips opened to a wide grin, her fears diminished.

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. "I love you too, Jules, so much," he said before placing a sweet, tender kiss on her lips and gently sliding into her, matching his earlier words with his actions.

As they moved together, quickly building a steady rhythm, Julie knew that he was was telling the truth. His love was the strain he was putting his body through for the meager possibility of being with her next year, the way he respected her, and most importantly, the act he was sharing with her right now.

UT-Austin, she realized later that evening as she and Tim cuddled together later, better not let her down.

* * *

_A/N:_

_I know, I'm terrible and I promised y'all I would update quickly and didn't...life has been ridiculously busy lately. _

_Either way, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it a bit longer to make up for the lack of updating, and hopefully the content doesn't disappoint either! _

_**Let me know what you think**, as well as any ideas about where you want the story to go next! (I know the ending I want, but would love suggestions on how to get there--my creativity is being drained with school right now, so any extra input is always welcome). _

_Again, sorry for making you all wait so long!_


	23. Chapter 23 and AN

**Dear Something to Believe Readers,**

**This is my sincerest apology for deserting this story...I feel terrible that I just dropped it out of the middle of nowhere. I PROMISE, that at some point, the loose ends will be tied up and a happy ending will be had by all :) It's just, with this new season of FNL, it's hard to write a Tim/Julie fic when they aren't even around each other, so motivation is hard to come by...you know? I repeat, the story will be finished at some point...there's only a couple of chapters left!**

**That being said, I have fallen down the rabbit hole that is Twilight. Sigh. I can't believe it, either. The good news: I'm writing a fic over there titled Texts From Last Night and, if I do say so myself, it's kind of hilarious, ****so be sure to check it out and leave some reviews! **

**Promise you'll all forgive me for being slow and terrible with this story and check out my new one in the meantime?**

**xoxo,**

**Chelsea**


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